Seventy years of mathematics built the thing we call AI
The article discusses the historical development of artificial intelligence over the past seventy years, emphasizing that the recent advancements are not as sudden as they appear. It traces the origins of AI back to foundational mathematical concepts introduced in the early 1940s. The narrative challenges the perception that AI's emergence is a recent phenomenon, highlighting the gradual evolution of ideas and technologies that led to its current state.
- ▪The concept of AI began in 1943 with a paper by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts proposing a mathematical model of neurons.
- ▪Claude Shannon's 1948 work laid the groundwork for communication theory, which is relevant to AI's functioning.
- ▪The term 'artificial intelligence' was coined in 1956 during a workshop at Dartmouth College, where early researchers were overly optimistic about solving AI problems quickly.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The Long Way to the RoomReza Farzaneh13 min read·May 18, 2026--ListenShareHow seventy years of mathematics built the thing that we are call it AI — and why “sudden” is the most misleading word in the conversationAylin Alavizadeh Industrial Engineer · Specialist in Mathematics & ProbabilityReza Farzaneh Software Engineer · Systems Thinker & AI Research WriterPress enter or click to view image in full sizeOpen a newspaper from late 2022 and the story reads like this: one autumn morning, a company in San Francisco released a chatbot. The world changed overnight. Schools panicked. Lawyers updated their resumes. Philosophers got nervous. The age of artificial intelligence had arrived.It is a tidy story.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Medium.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Medium
