The Beginnings: Philosophy and Mathematics as the Basis of AI
The idea of creating intelligent machines has deep roots in philosophy and mathematics. Since ancient Greece, Aristotle explored formal logic, while in the 17th century, thinkers such as René Descartes and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz imagined a "universal calculus" capable of mimicking human reasoning.
In the 19th century, Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage designed the Analytical Engine, considered the first programmable machine, laying the theoretical foundations for the automation of thought.
The 20th Century: The Birth of Artificial Intelligence
Modern artificial intelligence was officially born in 1956 during the Dartmouth Workshop, where scientist John McCarthy coined the term artificial intelligence. During this time, pioneers such as Alan Turing, Marvin Minsky and Claude Shannon were working on key concepts such as Turing Test and primitive neural networks.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the first programs capable of playing chess emerged (Logic Theorist and General Problem Solver of Newell and Simon) and of processing natural language (ELIZA by Joseph Weizenbaum).
The "AI Winters" and Their Resurgence
During the 1970s and 1980s, initial enthusiasm was challenged by technological limitations and a lack of computing power, leading to periods of stagnation known as the "AI winters". However, at this time there emerged the expert systems, programs capable of making decisions based on predefined rules.
The resurgence of AI came in the 1990s thanks to improved hardware and the development of more advanced algorithms. In 1997, the supercomputer Deep Blue IBM defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov, marking a historic milestone.
21st Century: Big Data and Machine Learning
The modern era of artificial intelligence is dominated by the deep learning (deep learning), a branch of the machine learning (machine learning) based on deep neural networks. Its progress has been driven by the enormous amount of data available (Big Data) and the computing power of GPUs.
In 2011, IBM Watson won the television contest Jeopardy! against human champions. In 2016, AlphaGoDeepMind's , defeated a master of Go, a game much more complex than chess.
Nowadays, artificial intelligence is present in virtual assistants (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant), chatbots, autonomous vehicles, medicine, finance and even creativity (AI-generated art, automated writing).
The Future of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence continues to evolve with developments such as Generative AI (ChatGPT, DALL·E), advanced robotics, and the creation of increasingly autonomous systems. However, ethical and regulatory challenges remain regarding its responsible use and the potential risks of this technology.
Artificial intelligence has come a long way from its philosophical beginnings to becoming a key tool in modern society. Where will it take us in the future? Only time will tell.
