1. AI Was First Conceptualized in the 1600s
While the ancient Greeks wrote about “intelligent robots” in religious mythology, artificial intelligence was first conceptualized by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German mathematician and philosopher, in the late seventeenth century.
When Leibniz was just 20 years old, he offered a theory that could be used to allow a machine to generate ideas automatically. He essentially theorized that human thoughts, in any capacity, are all quantifiable and all come down to a refined mix of fundamental concepts. Therefore, Leibniz suggested that this combination could be replicated to give a machine the ability to do the same.
Leibniz named this theoretical mechanism “the great instrument of reason” and theorized that it would be able to answer any and all questions put forward to it. However, this idea of a thought machine came under considerable scrutiny. Many believed that human thought was a more spiritual or un-repeatable form of expression rather than something that came down to science.
As you may have guessed, this “great instrument of reason” was never successfully created, and we are yet to see a machine that could answer any question possible. There’s still time for that, though, right?
2. The Term ‘Artificial Intelligence" Was Coined in 1956
While the concepts surrounding artificial intelligence have been discussed for centuries, the term itself wasn’t officially coined until 1956, at a conference at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire. At this conference, the field of AI was officially born, along with the coining of the term.
At this conference, Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw, and Herbert Simon introduced the audience to their Logic Theorist program, designed to replicate the thinking and problem-solving processes present in the human mind.
After being introduced to the Logic Theorist program, Marvin Minsky, an MIT cognitive scientist, and several other renowned researchers and scientists spoke of how much faith they had in this technology. Alan Turing, a British mathematician, also wrote a paper on artificial intelligence in the 1950s and discussed building independently-thinking machines and testing their intelligence.
3. AI Can Be Found Everywhere Today
Though we’re not seeing all-knowing machinery or robots that act just like humans yet, AI is certainly being developed and improved upon each year, and it’s already being used in different ways in multiple industries.
Firstly, take a look at your smartphone! AI is used in your voice assistant, be it Siri, Bixby, Cortana, or Alexa. These virtual assistants use AI to understand your voice and make decisions based on what you ask or instruct. Your phone’s facial recognition feature also uses AI, as well as in object recognition programs (such as that offered by Samsung’s Bixby Vision).
You can also find the presence of artificial intelligence in cars! Renowned electric car company Tesla uses AI in its autopilot function, allowing their cars to view upcoming stretches of road and make decisions based on what the system picks up. Tesla also recently revealed its new Tesla Bot, which relies on AI to function. This machine is designed to perform mundane, uninteresting tasks that human beings generally have no interest in. Who knows, this bot could one day be folding your laundry!
4. AI Isn’t Perfect—Far From It
While scientists and engineers are certainly making some big steps in the field of AI, the technology hasn’t reached its peak yet. We’re still yet to develop a machine that can think in the same way as a human, and we’re certainly quite a while away from creating the kind of AI-fuelled robots seen in sci-fi films.
A key element of AI is machine learning. This term is pretty self-explanatory, but it involves a machine independently learning, building knowledge and experience, and adapting to situations. The shortcomings being seen in this area are essentially setting the limitations on what artificial intelligence can do.
So, what can’t AI do yet?
Firstly, AI still can’t handle situations the same way humans do, because AI doesn’t have what is known as ‘common sense.’ This massively limits what kinds of tasks AI can perform and what kinds of concepts it can understand. AI also still isn’t great at adapting last minute. Or, in other words, AI can’t improvise very well. This also has a negative effect on the quality to which it can function.
Another attribute (most) humans have that AI does not is the ability to be ethical. AI doesn’t have its own core values or morals, and so it can’t make decisions based on wellbeing or the greater good. All of these factors combined make AI pretty rudimentary compared to humans.
However, AI does indeed have a future, and a pretty exciting one, at that. But this will involve the increasing intelligence, and abilities, of a machine. And, if you’re a fan of sci-fi movies, you’ll know that there’s a chance this could go wrong.
5. People Are Scared of AI
At the moment, humans are the most intelligent beings on the planet, and it’s probably safe to say we like it that way. But if AI continues to advance at the rate it currently is, we might be faced with a being as intelligent, or vastly more intelligent, than us within the next few decades. In other words, we will achieve the ‘singularity’.
So, why is this a concern? Well, as you’d probably expect, a machine that can function at a higher speed or level of intelligence than us could prove to be a huge threat to humanity as a whole. And there’s a huge number of people who fear this possibility.
It was found in a 2019 Statista survey that 46% of Americans think achieving the singularity will result in either negative or world-ending consequences. Out of all survey participants, only 27% believed this would have a positive outcome for humanity. The situation is similar in the UK, with 60% of people fearing AI.
Considering how many people still fear the possible outcomes of high-functioning AI, it’s clear that reaching the singularity will create some divisions within society, which could itself be a huge issue. However, for now, AI still has a hard time understanding what you’re saying, so don’t worry too much.
The Possibilities of AI Are Endless, Regardless of Whether That’s Exciting or Scary
While opinions on AI differ from person to person, the continued progression of AI will certainly give way to some unbelievably advanced technology. Intelligent robots, self-driving cars, there’s no end to what AI could offer us in the coming years. While this may be a little daunting, we’re certainly excited to see it!
