Page 9 - DCAP506_ARTIFICIAL_INTELLIGENCE

Unit 1: Introduction and Overview

The Beginnings of AI Notes

Although the computer provided the technology necessary for AI, it was not
until the early 1950’s that the link between human intelligence and machines
was really observed. Norbert Wiener was one of the first Americans to make
observations on the principle of feedback theory.
Norbert Wiener

Example: The most familiar example of feedback theory is the thermostat. It controls the
temperature of an environment by gathering the actual temperature of the house, comparing it
to the desired temperature, and responding by turning the heat up or down.
What was so important about his research into feedback loops was that Wiener theorized that all
intelligent behavior were the result of feedback mechanisms that could possibly be simulated
by machines. This discovery influenced much of early development of AI. In late 1955, Newell
and Simon developed The Logic Theorist, considered by many to be the first AI program. The
program, representing each problem as a tree model, would attempt to solve it by selecting the
branch that would most likely result in the correct conclusion. The impact that the logic theorist
made on both the public and the field of AI has made it a crucial stepping stone in developing the
AI field.
In 1956 John McCarthy regarded as the father of AI, organized a conference to
draw the talent and expertise of others interested in machine intelligence for a
month of brainstorming. He invited them to Vermont for “The Dartmouth
summer research project on artificial intelligence.” From that point on, because
of McCarthy, the field would be known as Artificial intelligence. Although not a
huge success, the Dartmouth conference did bring together the founders in AI,
and served to lay the groundwork for the future of AI research. John McCarthy

Knowledge Expansion

In the seven years after the conference, AI began to pick up momentum. Although the field was
still undefined, ideas formed at the conference were re-examined, and built upon. Centers for AI
research began forming at Carnegie Mellon and MIT, and a new challenge was faced: further
research was placed upon creating systems that could efficiently solve problems, by limiting the
search, such as the Logic Theorist. And second, making systems that could learn by themselves.
In 1957, the first version of a new program The General Problem Solver (GPS) was tested. The
program developed by the same pair which developed the Logic Theorist. The GPS was an
extension of Wiener’s feedback principle, and was capable of solving a greater extent of common
sense problems. A couple of years after the GPS, IBM contracted a team to research artificial
intelligence. Herbert Gelerneter spent three years working on a program for solving geometry
theorems. While more programs were being produced, McCarthy was busy developing a major
breakthrough in AI history. In 1958 McCarthy announced his new development; the LISP language,
which is still used today. LISP stands for LISt Processing, and was soon adopted as the language
of choice among most AI developers.

Figure 1.3: Department of Defense Advance Research Project

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 3