History of Artificial Intelligence

The history of Artificial Intelligence is full of ideas and innovation. However, because of the power of cinema in our lives, if you hear the term “Artificial Intelligence”, you probably think of science fiction movies.

Because of this, it is normal for people to associate AI with humanoid robots and alien technology.

Yet, the truth is that the history of AI shows that this technology is simpler and more practical than you might think. Since the 1950s there are records of the creation and development of AI.

In this sense, you will understand the complete history of Artificial Intelligence and what this technology really is by reading this article.

What is Artificial Intelligence

The History of Artificial Intelligence tells about the quest of the human being to develop machines that behave intelligently.

Thus, several technologies can be related to the history of AI in order to reach this end goal. There are many applications of Artificial Intelligence in the world today, including solutions in healthcare, engineering, and even agriculture.

Some examples of activities that Artificial Intelligence is capable of performing today are the acquisition and processing of images, sounds, and voice. In addition, simultaneous language translation also works from AI.

In smart cars, it is possible to activate the autopilot during a trip. This is also possible because of Artificial Intelligence.

Moreover, the history of AI has developed to the point of relating to several areas of knowledge such as psychology, linguistics, philosophy, mathematics and logic, engineering, biology, and others.

The birth of AI

Although the records of Artificial Intelligence start from the 50s, the truth is that AI started way before that.

Society has been looking for solutions to imitate human intelligence for over 2,000 years. In the years 384 to 322 BC, for example, Aristotle developed a system that through premises could reach conclusions.

Then, with Leonardo da Vinci, who lived between 1452 and 1519, a mechanical calculator was created, which was the initial concept of computing automation.

But it was much later, in the 1950s, more specifically in 1956, that a conference was held in Dartmouth. A meeting that brought together names of technology at the time such as John McCarthy, Oliver Selfridge, Marvin Minsky and Trenchard More.

These scientists were interested in neural networks and the study of intelligence and spent two months figuring out how to describe human intelligence so that machines could imitate it.

At this point in history, interest in AI was very high, and so the efforts made attracted many investments in the development of the technology.

Based on these investments, it was possible to create ARPA, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, which focused on technology development. This is where the internet was created.

The Turing test

Another very important name for the History of Artificial Intelligence was Alan Turing. This computer scientist created, in the 1950s, a test to answer whether machines could actually think.

His proposal was an imitation game, to identify if a machine could impersonate a human without being identified.

The test consisted of a text conversation, in which several questions were asked to test human intelligence x artificial intelligence.

If no one could find out who was the man and who was the machine, that meant the machine was smart enough to pretend to be a human.

More advances from the 50s

In 1958 LISP was born, a language that became a standard in Artificial Intelligence systems. From LISP, several other languages originated over time.

In 1959 the term Machine Learning was created by Arthur Samuel, an MIT engineer. At this time, Machine Learning was defined by him as a field of study that allows computers to learn without having specific programming for it.

1960s: The story of Artificial Intelligence continues

In 1964 a new initiative called ELIZA was developed by MIT in order to simulate a conversation between humans and machines. As the history of Artificial Intelligence unfolds, we can identify the technologies developing.

The ELIZA initiative was the first chatbot in the world, and the intention was for it to be a psychologist. The technology would respond to the demands of human users from keyword-based responses.

In addition to this initiative, Shakey was the world’s first mobile robot, being created in the 60s. This robot could reason about its actions, and was able to break large commands into actions without needing specific instructions.

The Winter of Artificial Intelligence in the 70s and 80s

During the 70s and 80s little progress was observed, without many advances in the area. For this reason, the period has been called the “winter of Artificial Intelligence”.

The initial intention of imitating human intelligence and the dreams of transforming the world into a mixture of humans and machines were already farther away.

And it was after years, with Edward Feigenbaum, that the history of Artificial Intelligence developed again. For this, the scientist began to develop more specialized systems, which were capable of performing complex activities.

From this new approach, the corporate market showed interest in AI again, resulting in new investments.

90s: More AI technologies were introduced to the world

In the 90s we have the launch of IBM’s DEEP BLUE computer. This machine was able to beat Soviet chess champion Garry Kasparov.

This achievement happened because the computer was able to calculate possibilities, predict answers, and suggest more suitable moves. All because there was an Artificial Intelligence system installed on the machine.

The 2000s and Artificial Intelligence today

Several new products were launched in the 2000s, always improving the existing technology.

In 2002, the company iRobot launches its first cleaning assistant, called Roomba. Nowadays many people use this technology to keep the house clean without having to mop the floor or use other products on the floor.

In 2004, Boston Dynamics released its first BIG DOG robot. This first release is still under development today, and the robots can be seen on the streets. Its Artificial Intelligence is capable of performing several simple and complex tasks. In addition, the company’s videos showing the robot’s performance surprise those watching them because of the precision of the movements.

In the mid-2000s, in 2005, the first self-driving car was launched by Stanford University alumni in the United States. The car was called Stanley, and the machine managed to complete, in a 100% autonomous way, 212 km of journey in 6 hours and 53 minutes without any crash.

Then, in 2008, tech giants Google and Apple launch their voice recognition features. More and more people have access to this technology through cell phones and also personal assistants at home.

In 2011 the company IBM reaches the headlines with the Watson supercomputer. The platform allows the user to automate the Artificial Intelligence lifecycle and uses the latest Machine Learning technology in the world.

The story of Artificial Intelligence is not over yet

A lot of evolution has already happened with Artificial Intelligence in the world, but the news and research do not stop. Universities and companies around the world continue to launch new solutions using Artificial Intelligence to facilitate people’s daily lives and make machines increasingly intelligent.

Through technologies such as Machine Learning and Deep Learning, the development of Artificial Intelligence is increasing and without human intervention.