History of AI
The History of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Ancient Roots:
- Myths, stories, and rumors about artificial beings endowed with intelligence or consciousness by master craftsmen.
- Philosophers attempted to describe human thinking as the mechanical manipulation of symbols.
- Modern AI:
- The term Artificial Intelligence was coined in 1956.
- 1950s Visionaries:
- Computer scientists envisioned a future where technology could bring ancient ideas to life through collaboration.
- The field thrived with the help of press and science fiction, attracting attention and funding.
Emergence of Two Camps
- Symbolist Camp:
- Focused on logical, rule-based systems.
- Connectionist Camp:
- Inspired by the biological brain and neural networks.
- By the 1970s, connectionist approaches such as Machine Learning (ML) showed practical applications, leading to increased funding and interest.
Revival of Symbolic AI
- Stigmatization: For a period, symbolic AI research was considered impractical.
- Breakthrough in 2017:
- The pivotal research paper “Attention is All You Need!” combined symbolic mechanisms of “Self-Attention” with connectionist concepts in Neural Networks and Natural Language Processing (NLP).
- This fusion demonstrated potential for more harmonious development in AI.
Conclusion
- Integration: Modern AI increasingly integrates symbolic and connectionist approaches, reflecting the ongoing journey of bridging the ethereal and the tangible.