Page 8 - DCAP506_ARTIFICIAL_INTELLIGENCE

Artificial Intelligence

Notes 1.1 Overview

1.1.1 History of AI

Evidence of Artificial Intelligence folklore can be traced back to ancient Egypt, but with the
development of the electronic computer in 1941, the technology finally became available to
create machine intelligence. The term artificial intelligence was first coined in 1956, at the
Dartmouth conference, and since then Artificial Intelligence has expanded because of the theories
and principles developed by its dedicated researchers. Through its short modern history,
advancement in the fields of AI have been slower than first estimated, progress continues to be
made. From its birth 4 decades ago, there have been a variety of AI programs, and they have
impacted other technological advancements.

Figure 1.1: History of AI

The Era of the Computer

In 1941 an invention revolutionized every aspect of the storage and processing of information.
That invention, developed in both the US and Germany was the electronic computer. The first
computers required large, separate air-conditioned rooms, and were a programmer’s nightmare,
involving the separate configuration of thousands of wires to even get a program running.
The 1949 innovation, the stored program computer, made the job of entering a program easier,
and advancements in computer theory lead to computer science, and eventually Artificial
intelligence.

!
Caution With the invention of an electronic means of processing data, came a medium that
made AI possible.

Figure 1.2: Old Era of Computer

2 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY