A Primer: Artificial Intelligence Versus Neural Networks

A brief history of AI, machine learning, artificial neural networks, and deep learning.

Written byJef Akst

| 2 min read

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Artificial Intelligence: An Introduction

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The term “artificial intelligence” dates back to the mid-1950s, when mathematician John McCarthy, widely recognized as the father of AI, used it to describe machines that do things people might call intelligent. He and Marvin Minsky, whose work was just as influential in the AI field, organized the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence in 1956. A few years later, with McCarthy on the faculty, MIT founded its Artificial Intelligence Project, later the AI Lab. It merged with the Laboratory for Computer Science (LCS) in 2003 and was renamed the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, or CSAIL.

Now a ubiquitous part of modern society, AI refers to any machine that is able to replicate human cognitive skills, such as problem solving. Over the second half of the 20th century, machine learning emerged as a powerful AI approach that allows computers to, as ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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