While the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence in recent years may seem a recent phenomenon, AI can actually trace its roots all the way back to the early 1900s. AI itself is a branch of computer science which replicates human intelligence and abilities to solve problems. This is achieved by analysing data, learning from past experience, and adapting processes in the future. The steps taken from the early 1900s laid the groundwork for AI as we know it today.
One of the key figures in the development of AI was Alan Turing, who used his skills to examine the mathematical possibilities of artificial intelligence in his 1950 paper Computer Machinery and Intelligence. The paper explored how humans could build intelligent machines. AI has the potential to connect and adapt to users’ needs, as Jonathan De Vita can attest.
The Development of AI in the 1970s and 1980s
Artificial intelligence began to gather pace throughout the 1970s and 1980s as computers’ capabilities increased. With the addition of more storage capacity and increased speed, machines were better equipped to handle the potential of AI. They were also more readily available as prices steadily dropped and machine learning algorithms improved, allowing people to understand how to adapt them to their requirements. One of the main obstacles facing the development of AI was the lack of storage space in the early computer models.
The 1980s changed the landscape due to an injection of funds, notably from the Japanese Government as part of its Fifth Generation Computer Project. While the aims of the project were not achieved, it did lay the groundwork for new generations of engineers and scientists.
The embedded PDF looks at how the world’s biggest economies are investing in AI.
Turning Points Throughout the 1990s and 2000s
In 1997, the reigning world chess champion was beaten by Deep Blue, an AI system created by IBM. This sparked more interest in the evolution of AI and a raft of further funding. In the same year, Windows released a speech recognition software. In 2003, NASA landed two rovers on Mars, which explored the surface without human instruction. Social media companies began to employ user experience algorithms in 2006, exploring the potential of AI within advertising.
In the present day, artificial intelligence is now utilised in multiple industries to advance technology, entertainment, banking, and marketing companies, to name a few. The concept of the driverless car is now tangible, and machines now have the ability to call people and interact in a back-and-forth conversation. AI continues to improve and offer new possibilities for the future.