The origins of Artificial Intelligence
The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the 21st century does not paint the picture of its history dating back too far into the past. However, the concept of mechanized ‘humans’ first came to be in 380 BC when numerous mathematicians, theologians, professors, philosophers, and authors pondered over calculating machines and numeral systems that could ‘think’ like humans.
Today, we know AI as the broad branch of computer science which concerns itself with ‘smart’ or intelligent machines that are capable of performing cognitive practices that typically require human intelligence. It is based on the principle that human thought processes can be both replicated and mechanized. Machine learning (ML) is a popular subset of AI which is the method of machines parsing data, learning from that data and then applying it to make an informed decision. Now, we will delve into the origins of AI and how it burgeoned through the years.
As we mentioned above, the history of AI dates all the way back to antiquity when intellectuals mulled over the idea of mechanical ‘men’ and automatons that could exist in some fashion in the future. They appeared in Greek myths, with some examples being the golden robots of Hephaestus and Pygmalion’s Galatea. Fast forward to the early 1700s, Jonathan Swift’s renowned novel, ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ included a device termed ‘the engine’, which was akin to computers today. The device’s intended purpose was to improve operations and knowledge by lending its assistance and learning to skill-less people. In 1872, Samuel Bulter, an author, wrote ‘Erewhon’ which toyed with the idea of machines in the future possessing consciousness.
Thanks to these early thinkers, philosophers, mathematicians, and logicians were instigated to develop mechanized ‘humans’. In 1929, Makoto Nishimura, a Japanese biologist, and professor built the first robot in Japan called ‘Gakutensoku’ which translates to ‘learning from the laws of nature’. This implied that the robot could derive knowledge from people and nature.
These advances led to the invention of the programmable digital computer called the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC) by John Vincent Atanasoff, a physicist, and inventor, alongside his assistant Clifford Berry in 1939. The ABC could solve up to 29 linear equations simultaneously and further inspired scientists to create an ‘electronic brain’ or an artificially-intelligent non-living entity.
The 1950s saw the concept of AI being catapulted into high gear since many advances in the field of AI came to fruition at this time. The first major success in this decade was when Alan Turing, a famed mathematician, proposed ‘The Imitation Game’. According to Turning, a machine that could converse with human beings without them knowing it is the machine would win this ‘imitation game’ and could be perceived ‘intelligent’. This proposal went on to become ‘The Turing Test’ which became a measure of machine (artificial) intelligence.
In 1955, Herbert Simon (economist), Allen Newell (researcher) and Cliff Shaw (programmer) conjointly authored ‘Logic Theorist’, which was the very first AI computer program. Funded by Research and Development (RAND) Corporation, it was designed to imitate the problem-solving skills of humans.
However, the greatest success arguably in this decade was when computer scientist, John McCarthy arranged the Dartmouth Summer Research Project at Dartmouth College in 1956. The term ‘Artificial Intelligence‘ was coined at this conference by McCarthy. ‘Logic Theorist’, which we mentioned above, was unveiled at the Dartmouth Conference. Following this, several research centers popped up across the US to explore AI and its potential. In 1958, McCarthy also developed Lisp, which is one of the most popular programming languages for AI research and is still used to date.
