Abstract

This article offers a general overview of AI, including the definition, scope, historical evolution, and underlying sub-categories of AI. AI refers to the ability of machines—especially computers—to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence; such tasks include learning from experience, recognizing patterns, and making decisions. The chapter offers a historical account of AI, from its mythological and early philosophical birth to its emergence as a formal field in the 1950s, discussing some of its landmark events—such as the Turing Test and the Dartmouth Conference. The article explores technological and theoretical innovations that have influenced the development of AI, such as the rapid increase in volume and diversity of data, the big data revolution and its impact on AI, the industrialization and commercialization of AI, and the development of neural networks. A fundamental segregation—some experts would say division, for them—is between Narrow AI (i.e., systems made for a particular purpose) and General AI (machines that can think like humans).