How did AI start as a concept?

Artificial Intelligence is in fashion today but it has come a long way until it became something we can use. So, how did AI start ad a concept?

In this article you will walk through the AI history from its infancy in the 50s, its teens in the 70s until today when it has become a powerful tool providing support in a myriad of industries and sectors. 

A little bit of history

Early 1950s

In the early 1950s, a handful of scientists began to explore the possibility of creating intelligent machines. At the time, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) was in its infancy and the term itself had not yet been coined. One of the earliest pioneers in AI was British mathematician Alan Turing, who is best known for his work on code-breaking during World War II. In 1950, Turing published a paper titled “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” in which he proposed a test, now known as the Turing Test, for determining whether a machine could be considered intelligent.

If a machine could carry on a conversation with a human being and fool them into thinking it was also human, then it could be considered intelligent. Turing’s test remains a popular measure of AI today, though it is not without its critics. In the years since Turing’s paper was published, AI has made great strides. Early successes included the creation of programs that could solve simple problems like checkers and chess.

1970s

In the 1970s, AI experienced a boom thanks to the development of new technologies like microprocessors and expert systems. Expert systems were programs that could mimic the decision-making process of human experts in a particular field. For example, a medical expert system might be able to diagnose a patient’s illness based on a set of symptoms.

1980s

The 1980s saw a sharp decline in AI’s fortunes, due in part to the unrealistic expectations that had been placed on the technology. AI was unable to live up to the hype and many funding sources dried up. However, the 1990s saw a renewed interest in AI, thanks in part to the increasing power of computers. This allowed AI to make significant progress in areas like machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics.

What is AI capable of today?

The current state of AI is very different from what it was in the early days. Due to the recent advances in machine learning, AI is now capable of performing many tasks that were once considered impossible for machines. This has led to the rapid expansion of AI into many different domains such as healthcare, finance, transportation, among many others, including marketing and advertising. 

The present of AI can be seen in many different fields. In healthcare, AI is being used to diagnose diseases, plan surgeries, and predict patient outcomes. In finance, AI is being used to create investment portfolios, detect fraud, and predict stock market movements. In transportation, AI is being used to plan routes, optimize traffic flows, and even autonomously drive vehicles. And in marketing and advertising it can be seen in Paris. 

The future of AI is very exciting. With the continued advances in machine learning, AI will become even more powerful and useful. We will see AI assistants become more common, helping us with our daily tasks. AI will also become more involved in our decision-making, providing us with valuable insights that we would otherwise not have.

May all this progress in the field and development of a new way of doing stuff be done with humanity and ethics. 

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