A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence
As with the definition of Artificial Intelligence, the history of AI is not much clearer. Many arguments can be constructively placed for exactly how and when the notion of AI was successfully constructed as well as the component ideas that led to its creation. So, in order to present the history of AI in a brief format, key figures, ideas, and contributors to AI will be introduced. It is with a gradual collection of these key people, ideas, and technological advancements that we can establish the foundation for what we may conceive as AI.
Some of the original foundations of the research topic known as AI can be traced to figures as early as the 5th century when Aristotle contributed a topic known as syllogistic logic. While this seems like a small and distant step, we can combine this early formal logic system devised by Aristotle with the inventions of devices such as the clock and printing press in the 15th and 16th centuries. These two key inventions both represent and early mechanical intelligence system that emulate behaviors or functions that humans would normally perform. Its only natural that mechanical abilities of machines that replace human functions and behaviors collide with the idea of formal (or algorithmic) logical thinking and reasoning.
Also, it is important to recognize another important concept that surfaces many times that can be rooted back as early as the 5th century. This concept is the notion or conception by man of mechanical figures or machines that perform various functions or work for them. During this time we find early forms of the modern conception of a robot or android. Whether it be stories of Greek mythology or the invention of the Golem by Rabbi Loew in 1580, man has already envisioned, very early on, the dream that one day we may have machines with reason and motivation.
Moving along, the history or pre-history of AI can be furthered through many figures of thought in modern philosophy. Two such figures (among many) whom can be represented by this statement are Rene Descartes and Thomas Hobbes. Descartes is known for many contributions to modern philosophy among of which is his idea of mechanical theory that reduces behaviors of animals to that of machines. Also, Thomas Hobbes in his well known The Leviathan contained references to a formal or combinatorial method for thinking. Both of these modern philosophers as well as many others, although not directly, were indirectly contributing their thoughts to AI.
Up to this point, the history of AI has been discussed without any mention of modern computers or even electronics. The roots of AI precede that of modern computing systems, which furthers the earlier definition of AI as a science that is not just limited to the Computer Science field. In fact, it may be more appropriate to root the modern version of the computer as we know it as merely the latest extension of the industrial revolution that is still currently encompassing the world. Computers are just very highly technical machines that are on the tip of the modern industrial revolution and are just distant ancestors from primitive machines of any type in history.
Although there is much more pre-computing history of AI then that mentioned above, one cannot avoid mentioning some of the highlights of the birth of the modern computing as a major contribution to the entire field of AI in the next section. So, in short summary, the history of AI is a combination or collision if you will of modern thought and industrialization. AI has mainly been contributed by great figures of both modern thought represented by the field of philosophy and modern ingenuity in the field of industrialization. The pre-history and the history of AI is nothing more than an evolution of inevitability of the extensions of mankind's ability of mind and vision. All of the modern developments of AI will be discussed in the next section entitled, Modern Developments in AI.