The concept of artificial intelligence began to take shape in the mid-20th century. One of the earliest milestones was the development of the Turing Test by British mathematician and logician Alan Turing in 1950. Turing proposed that a machine could be considered intelligent if it could engage in a conversation indistinguishable from that of a human. This laid the groundwork for evaluating machine intelligence.
In 1956, the term "artificial intelligence" was coined at the Dartmouth Conference, organized by John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon. This conference marked the formal beginning of AI as a field of study. It brought together researchers who would go on to become influential figures in AI development.
In the early 1960s, John McCarthy created the programming language LISP, which became the dominant language for AI research. Meanwhile, Herbert Simon and Allen Newell developed the Logic Theory Machine and General Problem Solver, both significant contributions that demonstrated machines could solve problems through logical reasoning.
The 1970s saw the emergence of expert systems, programs designed to mimic human expertise in specific domains. One notable example was MYCIN, developed at Stanford University to diagnose bacterial infections and recommend treatments. Despite its success, the limitations of expert systems led to reduced funding and interest in AI, a period often referred to as the "AI Winter."
The resurgence of AI in the 1980s was fueled by advances in machine learning and computational power. Geoffrey Hinton, a key figure in neural networks, contributed to the development of the backpropagation algorithm, revitalizing interest in deep learning techniques. By the 1990s, AI began to find practical applications, leading to significant achievements like IBM's Deep Blue, which defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.
AI's rapid evolution continued into the 21st century with the rise of big data and enhanced algorithms. The development of deep learning, particularly through convolutional neural networks (CNNs), led to breakthroughs in image and speech recognition. Notable advancements include Google's AlphaGo, which triumphed over Go champion Lee Sedol in 2016, showcasing the potential of AI in complex strategic games.