Ivan Bratko, one of Slovenia’s leading figures in artificial intelligence, has received the Golden Order of Merit for his major contribution to science and AI development. The 79-year-old computer science professor was honored for pioneering work in machine learning, logic programming, robotics, and for helping position Slovenia on the global AI map.
Bratko founded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Computer and Information Science in 1985 and led it for more than three decades.
He has published over 200 scientific papers and authored the influential book Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence, widely regarded as one of the foundational works in symbolic AI and still used at universities around the world.
The award was presented during an AI forum hosted by Nataša Pirc Musar in Brdo, where participants also called for stronger integration of artificial intelligence and computer science into school curricula as Slovenia seeks to further strengthen its technological and educational development.
