In making the program Winograd was concerned with the problem of providing a computer with sufficient "understanding" to be able to use natural language.

The program could accept commands such as, "Find a block which is taller than the one you are holding and put it into the box" and carry out the requested action using a simulated block-moving arm.

[4] In 1973, Winograd moved to Stanford University and developed an AI-based framework for understanding natural language which was to give rise to a series of books.

"[5] His approach shifted away from classical Artificial Intelligence after encountering the critique of cognitivism by Hubert Dreyfus and meeting with the Chilean philosopher Fernando Flores.

Starting in 1995, Winograd served as adviser to Stanford PhD student Larry Page,[7] who was working on a research project involving web search.

In addition to the Computer Science Dept., Winograd is associated with the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, also known as the "d.school", which he helped found.