“The quest for artificial intelligence (AI) began over 70 years ago, with the idea that computers would one day be able to think like us. Ambitious predictions attracted generous funding, but after a few decades there was little to show for it.
But, in the last 25 years, new approaches to AI, coupled with advances in technology, mean that we may now be on the brink of realising those pioneers’ dreams.
1943 – WW2 triggers fresh thinking
1950 – Science fiction steers the conversation
1956 – A ‘top-down’ approach
1968 – 2001: A Space Odyssey – imagining where AI could lead
1969 – Tough problems to crack
1973 – The AI winter
1981 – A solution for big business
1990 – Back to nature for ‘bottom-up’ inspiration
1997 – Man vs machine: Fight of the 20th Century
2002 – The first robot for the home
2005 – War machines
2008 – Starting to crack the big problems
2010 – Dance bots
2011 – Man vs machine: Fight of the 21st Century
2014 – Are machines intelligent now?”