How long has AI been around? A popular question among scientists is “How long has AI existed?” Several early AI programs were developed during the 1950s and early 1960s. Daniel Bobrow’s STUDENT program is considered one of the earliest examples of natural language processing in AI.
Another early program, ELIZA, was created by Joseph Weizenbaum and was intended to simulate superficial communication. In its early stages, ELIZA challenged the best human checkers players, and its development became a benchmark for the progress of AI.
AI was revived in the 1970s when John Hopfield, David Rumelhart, and other researchers developed “deep learning” techniques that allowed computers to learn from experience. Another important early AI project was Edward Feigenbaum’s expert systems. These systems mimicked the decision-making process of human experts and were used extensively in industry. The Japanese government also heavily funded AI projects, particularly expert systems. Nevertheless, despite these advancements, the field of AI remains in its infancy.
The advent of narrow AI aimed at specific tasks has made it possible for machines to perform superhuman tasks. In 2004, self-driving Toyota Prius completed 10 100-mile trips and set the stage for driverless cars. In 2011, IBM Watson won the Jeopardy game using natural language processing and analytics. It also beat human contestants at the US quiz show Jeopardy! The technology used to train Watson was so advanced that it was able to answer questions in fractions of a second.
Initially, Turing’s AI concept was first put forth at the end of the 1950s. The goal was to create an artificial mind. In order for it to do so, however, he thought computers needed to be upgraded fundamentally. As computers gained in power and memory, the process of creating artificial intelligence became easier. However, a large amount of research and development was needed before this breakthrough could be realized.
The term “artificial intelligence” is considered to be a modern invention, albeit with a long history. The field was first formally titled in 1956. The term was coined at a conference organized by Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The first AI computer program was called Logic Theorist and it proved 38 of the 52 first theorems of mathematics.
The rise of AI started decades ago as an academic project. A sociologist and economist named Herbert Simon predicted that AI would be ubiquitous thirty years later. Today, AI is ubiquitous and has applications across a broad range of industries. And its potential has only increased. And while AI continues to develop, more companies are discovering the benefits of it. Its benefits are vast, and it promises to give us a competitive edge.
The earliest examples of AI were developed as early as the 1970s. In the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the sentient computer HAL converses with the crew in human language. The concept of non-human machine intelligence has been around for centuries, but it only became a reality in the mid-20th century, thanks to technology. Eventually, it was incorporated into computers and began to take over the world.
Artificial intelligence is a fascinating technology that has the potential to affect almost every aspect of human endeavor. In the meantime, we can use it to automate tasks that are repetitive in nature. But what if AI does not evolve to the point where it resembles human intelligence? Experts differ on whether AI will reach this point. In the near future, we may use AI for customer service queries, interpret video feeds from drones, monitor weather conditions, flag inappropriate content on the web, and generate 3D models of the world.
Before AI was made practical, it was only a sci-fi concept. Philosophers were exploring the concept of mechanical men and machines with consciousness. Classical philosophers attempted to describe human thought as mechanical manipulation of symbols. In the 1940s, scientists began seriously discussing the possibility of building electronic brains. The Atanasoff Berry Computer, an early example of a programmable digital computer, paved the way for AI to become a reality.
AI has come a long way since the 1950s when researchers began researching it. In 1956, Claude Shannon, the father of information theory, published a paper on the creation of a chess-playing machine. Later, in 1956, Alan Turing published a paper on the relationship between intelligence and computing machinery. He explored the idea of “The Imitation Game”, which later became a fundamental component of artificial intelligence.