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This conference brought together leading experts, including McCarthy, Turing, Minsky, Nathaniel
Rochester and Claude Shannon, who all shared the belief that thinking machines could be
created. Their work focused on programming computers to simulate various aspects of human
cognition, such as reasoning, learning and language understanding. However, AI progress halted
in the 1980s and 1990s due to slow processors, limited memory and high cost. This period was

referred to as the AI Winter.

Founding Fathers of Artificial Intelligence

The founding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be traced back to 1956, a year that marked the birth
of AI as a formal field of study. Several visionary scientists made groundbreaking contributions
that helped shape the early development of AI. Key figures include:

 John McCarthy: John McCarthy coined the term Artificial
Intelligence. McCarthy played a pivotal role in organising the
1956 Dartmouth Conference, where the field of AI was born. His

work in formalising the concept of machine learning and
developing the LISP programming language has had a lasting
impact on AI research.

 Marvin Minsky: A leading figure in AI, Minsky co-founded the
AI Laboratory at MIT and made substantial contributions to
the development of machine learning and cognitive theories.
His work on neural networks and the development of early AI

models helped advance the field significantly.

 Claude Shannon: He is known as the father of information

theory, Shannon made key contributions to computational
theory that laid the groundwork for machine learning. His
research on how machines could process and manipulate

information was instrumental in the development of AI.

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