Artificial intelligence feels new, but researchers have been working on it for over 70 years. Here are ten milestones that help explain where we are today.
- 1950: The Turing Test. Alan Turing asks whether machines can think and proposes a test based on conversation.
- 1956: AI gets its name. The Dartmouth workshop launches AI as a research field.
- 1966: ELIZA. An early chatbot imitates a therapist using simple pattern matching.
- 1980s: Expert systems. Rule-based programs help businesses make decisions, followed by an "AI winter" of reduced funding.
- 1997: Deep Blue beats Kasparov. A computer defeats the world chess champion.
- 2012: Deep learning breakthrough. Neural networks dramatically improve image recognition.
- 2016: AlphaGo. AI beats a top professional at Go, a game once thought too complex.
- 2017: Transformers. A new neural network design makes modern language models possible.
- 2022: AI goes mainstream. Chat assistants and image generators reach millions of everyday users.
- 2020s: Multimodal AI and agents. AI that sees, hears, speaks and takes actions on our behalf.
What comes next?
Progress continues quickly. Understanding the history helps keep both the excitement and the limitations in perspective.