Artificial intelligence has evolved from a concept in theories and novels into a key driver of modern technological innovation. This timeline begins with Alan Turing’s seminal 1950 paper, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," which proposed what is now known as the Turing Test—a challenge to determine if a machine can exhibit human-like intelligence. Over the decades, AI has progressed through major milestones, from the creation of the first learning algorithms to the development of [[neural network]]s that emulate human thinking processes. The term "Artificial Intelligence" itself was coined in 1956, during a pivotal summer workshop at Dartmouth College, marking the official birth of the field as an academic discipline. Since then, [[artificial intelligence (AI)]] has seen periods of intense growth and innovation, as well as winters of reduced interest and funding. The 1990s and 2000s brought AI into mainstream technology, with IBM's Deep Blue and Watson demonstrating that machines could outperform humans in complex games like chess and Jeopardy!, respectively. The rapid advancements in deep learning and neural networks during the 2010s, particularly with the launch of [[OpenAI]]’s GPT models, have further accelerated AI capabilities. These developments have led to the current era where AI is not just a field of study, but a fundamental component of global industry, influencing everything from healthcare and finance to entertainment and personal productivity. This timeline captures these significant milestones and the very beginnings of the ongoing evolution of AI as a transformative technology. - **1950**: Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," proposing what is now called the Turing Test to evaluate a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior. - **1956**: The term "Artificial Intelligence" is coined at the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, led by John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky. - **1959**: Arthur Samuel develops the first self-learning program, which was a checkers-playing program capable of improving its game with each match. - **1966**: Joseph Weizenbaum creates ELIZA, an early [[Natural Language Processing (NLP)]] computer program that could mimic conversation by matching user prompts to scripted responses. - **1972**: The first intelligent humanoid robot, WABOT-1, is built in Japan. It has the ability to walk, grasp objects, and communicate in Japanese. - **1980**: The first national [[artificial intelligence (AI)]] program is launched by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in AI research. - **1987-1993**: The "AI Winter" occurs, a period of reduced funding and interest in artificial intelligence research due to high expectations and challenging technological limitations. - **1997**: IBM's Deep Blue becomes the first computer chess-playing system to beat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov. - **2002**: Roomba, the first commercially successful robotic vacuum, is introduced by iRobot. - **2006**: Geoffrey Hinton and Ruslan Salakhutdinov publish a breakthrough paper rekindling interest in [[neural network]]s using [[deep learning]] techniques. - **2011**: IBM's Watson defeats two of the greatest Jeopardy! champions, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, showcasing the progress in natural language processing. - **2014**: Google acquires DeepMind Technologies, a company known for its AI capabilities in deep learning and reinforcement learning. - **2016**: Google's AlphaGo defeats world champion Go player Lee Sedol, marking a significant achievement in AI capabilities in complex board games. - **2018**: [[OpenAI]]’s language model GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) showcases the ability of deep learning models, and [[transformer models]] in particular, to understand and generate human-like text. - **2020**: GPT-3 is released by OpenAI, significantly advancing the capabilities of AI in generating coherent and contextually relevant text based on a few prompts. - **2022**: OpenAI releases [[ChatGPT-4]], further improving on the capabilities and accuracy of generative text models. - **2023**: Several tech companies globally launch their own AI models, offering various capabilities that compete directly with OpenAI's offerings, pushing further innovations and applications in the AI space.