The history of artificial intelligence goes as far back as ancient Greece. However, it’s the rise of electronic computing that made AI a real possibility. Note that what is considered AI has changed as the technology evolves. For example, a few decades ago, machines that could perform optimal character recognition (OCR) or simple arithmetic were categorized as AI. Today, OCR and basic calculations are not considered AI but rather an elementary function of a computer system.
1950s – Alan Turing, a man famous for breaking the WWII ENIGMA code used by the Nazis, publishes the Computing Machinery and Intelligence paper in the Mind. He attempts to answer the question of whether machines can think. He outlines the Turing Test that determines whether a computer shows the same intelligence as a human. The test holds that an AI system should have the ability to hold a conversation with a human without the human knowing they are speaking to an AI system. The first ever AI conference is held at Dartmouth College. It’s here that the term artificial intelligence was first used.
1960s – The US Department of Defense through DARPA takes great interest in AI and embarks on developing computer programs that mimic human reasoning. Frank Rosenblatt builds the Mark 1 Perceptron computer based on a neural network that learns through experience.
1970s – DARPA completes various street mapping projects.
1980s – A more complex wave of AI emerges. Neural networks with backpropagation algorithms find widespread application in AI systems.
1990s – Exponentially growing volumes of data are produced. Powerful computers process large quantities of data quickly. The Deep Blue supercomputer defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov twice. The Genome Sequencing project and other similarly complex undertakings generate vast information. Computing advances make it possible for this data to be stored, accessed, and analyzed.
2000s – The Internet Revolution drives AI to unprecedented heights. Big data joins corporate lexicon. DARPA rolls out intelligent personal assistants long before Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and Google Assistant become household names. This paves the way for the reasoning and automation that’s a part of present day personal computers and smartphones. That includes smart search systems and decision support systems that augment and complement human abilities.
2010s – China’s search giant Baidu unveils the Minwa supercomputer that relies on a convolutional neural network to identify, analyze, and categorize images with higher accuracy than the average human. The AlphaGo deep neural network program from DeepMind beats Go world champion Lee Sodol in a five-game match. Go is an ancient Chinese game that’s considerably more complex than chess.