History of Artificial Intelligence A defining characteristic of the last century has been the numerous significant technological advancements made. Most of these advances were facilitated by the invention of the computer, making computer science a critical discipline in modern times. One fascinating and promising branch of computer science is Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is an interdisciplinary branch of the science that borrows from a wide range of fields including cognitive psychology, engineering, mathematics, linguistics, and philosophy. The field aims at exploring and developing ways in which computer systems can be made to act in a manner that human beings recognize as “intelligent”. The term “artificial intelligence” was coined in 1956 following concerted interest by scientists from various backgrounds on symbolic processing and computer simulation of human behavior (Palmer 2). While AI as a discipline began in the mid-1950s, its foundations were laid earlier on by a number of prominent British scientists. The 19th century British mathematician Charles Babbage formulated the first computing engine, which served as the precursor of the modern digital computer. The 19th century Mathematician-logician George Boole invented Boolean algebra, which was used in the operation of digital computer. Last and most important was the British logician-mathematician, Alan Turin, who proposed computer programs based upon logical operators. The proposed machines were capable of interacting and manipulating symbols that included natural language. Palmer reveals that from Turin’s idea or a universal programmable computer, the ideal of AI arose (2). The initial goals of AI researchers were very ambitious. In the early years of the field, AI scientists sort to fully duplicate the human capacities of thought and language on the digital computer (Palmer 2). Some of the researchers involved in AI projects went so far as to claim that a complete theory of intelligence would be achieved by the late 1960s. As it turned out, the AI programs did not achieve the momentous results promised. The initial efforts led to the successful design of programs that could prove theorems in symbolic logic. However, the projects failed to succeed in automatic language translation leading to a loss of funding to expert systems, which did not attempt to explain human intelligence but had great practical applications. There was a regeneration of interest in AI over the 1970s and 1980s as researchers in the US and Europe engaged in expansive studies exploring intuitions about intelligence (Geffner 45). During this period, computer scientists had reduced the ambitions of AI to theories of more modest scope. The quest for certainty and truth had been abandoned for “micro-truths” that can be obtained though common sense introspection. As opposed to the past where AI research was concentrated on understanding the nature of intelligence, greater emphasis was given to practical application (Palmer 2). The 21st century has witnessed great advances in AI with systems being developed for practical applications. Current AI uses The past two decades have witnessed an increase in the number of practical AI uses. One area where AI is used with increasing frequency is speech recognition. Computer systems are programmed to understand human natural language and respond to it. Spee