The rapid growth of AI continues to impact all areas of business, from financial services and transportation to healthcare and entertainment. It raises ethical questions about its long-term implications and the boundaries between human capacity and technological influence. It also poses societal issues about privacy and data security, fairness and bias in AI decision-making algorithms, and its impact on jobs.
Throughout history, the term “AI” has been applied to a wide range of computer programs and systems that perform tasks typically reserved for humans. AI is now a broad umbrella term that covers everything from self-service kiosks and voice assistant apps to autonomous cars and medical procedures.
In this article, we’ll explore the major milestones in the evolution of AI, as well as the current applications and challenges that it brings to our everyday lives.
Frank Rosenblatt builds the Perceptron, a pioneering machine based on a neural network that learns through trial and error. John McCarthy coined the term artificial intelligence at a conference at Dartmouth College and proposed an early definition of the field. IBM’s Deep Blue program beat world champion Garry Kasparov at chess, and Google’s AlphaGo program defeated world champion Lee Sodol in the board game Go.
In the 2010s, advances in the software algorithm called machine learning and computing power led to the emergence of stronger, more sophisticated AI. Today, most AI-related headlines focus on generative AI, which creates new content that is intended to mimic the style and tone of human creations. Gen AI is most commonly used in the form of text and image creation, such as popular apps like ChatGPT or YouTube’s video-making tool Veo 3. It’s also been used to create high-quality music that sounds almost like it was written by a real musician.