In this section, you will gain an overview of what artificial intelligence is and get a quick glimpse into its history.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved from being a science fiction dream to becoming a reality that shapes our modern society. AI technologies have revolutionized the way we work, communicate, and make decisions.

Artificial Intelligence refers to a field of study that develops data systems and algorithms capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. The goal of AI is to create machines that can learn, adapt, and perform tasks in an intelligent manner.

Although there has been much focus on AI since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, you have most likely used AI before without even realizing it! Most places that recognize your fingerprint, your voice, the mobile assistant Siri, Snapchat filters, design ideas in PowerPoint, Google Translator… As you can see, these technologies have been around for a while.

AI is also used in other areas. For example, AI contributes to medical diagnostics by analyzing large amounts of patient data to identify patterns and signs of diseases. This enables earlier and more accurate diagnosis, as well as more tailored treatment.

In the financial sector, AI is used, among other things, for risk assessment and fraud detection. Algorithms can also analyze large amounts of financial data quickly and make more precise decisions.

The rapid development of AI technologies also brings ethical questions and challenges. Issues of privacy, algorithm bias, and potential job displacement are among the important discussions that need to be addressed and resolved to ensure responsible and fair utilization of AI.

Summary

Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology that is changing the way we live, work, and interact. AI technologies have given us the ability to perform tasks that were previously beyond our reach. While AI brings enormous benefits, we must also be mindful of the ethical challenges and ensure that the technology is used for the benefit of humanity. It is exciting to see how AI will continue to shape the future.

History

The term “artificial intelligence” was coined in 1956 during a conference at Dartmouth College in the USA. The conference brought together researchers in automation, neural networks in the brain, and studies of intelligence. Many of those who would shape the field in the following decades were present.

The creation of the term is commonly attributed to the American researcher John McCarthy (1927–2011), who was one of the key speakers at the conference.

AI Winters

After the Dartmouth conference, there was great optimism in the research communities in the 1960s, with many believing that machines would become as intelligent as humans within a few years. This led to significant interest and financial donations for research in artificial intelligence. However, the results did not materialize, and in the 1970s, the field experienced an AI winter. Research funding was reduced, and the research on artificial intelligence was severely limited.

In the 1980s, artificial intelligence made a new attempt in the form of expert systems, and optimism was once again associated with the field. At the same time, Hollywood introduced artificial intelligence through major films like Terminator (1984) and Short Circuit (1986). However, once again, the expert systems failed to meet expectations, and from the late 1980s through the 1990s, artificial intelligence experienced another AI winter.

A notable moment came in 1997 when the chess computer Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov. This was the first time a computer had defeated a reigning world chess champion.

Breakthrough

There was extensive research on the applications of neural networks in the 1990s and 2000s, but it was not until the 2010s that methods, computing power, and data availability allowed artificial intelligence to transition from research laboratories to the industrial world.

Computers became more powerful, enabling the training of larger models. Additionally, large amounts of data were available for training AI models. This led to several breakthroughs, one of which occurred in 2012 when there was a significant advancement in the automatic recognition of objects in large image databases. After this, neural networks became practically used for all image understanding, and the method also proved applicable for interpreting sound and text. Artificial intelligence regained its popularity in both industrial contexts and people’s awareness.

Tasks

Task 1
1.1 Which places have you consciously used AI?
1.2 Which places might you have used AI without realizing it?
1.3 Name one ethical challenge associated with AI.
1.4 When was the term “artificial intelligence” established?
1.5 Why did it become easier to create larger and better models?
1.6 What is an AI winter?
1.7 Why do you think people were surprised when a computer defeated a world chess champion?

Task 2
1.8 Search the text and note down new words from the text.

Task 3
1.9 Was there anything in the text that surprised you?

Task 4
1.10 – Word bank
Place these terms in a word bank and explain them
Artificial intelligence, Diagnostics, Automation, Neural networks, Intelligence, Generative, Reason, AI winter, Expert system, Data