Machine, Learning, 1951

Marvin Minsky engineered the first known artificial neural network, in which “rats” represented as lights learned to solve a maze.

Written byJef Akst

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ABOVE: The SNARC machine included 40 artificial neurons (one pictured), which were interconnected via a plugboard and held in racks in a contraption about the size of a grand piano. At one end of the neuron was a potentiometer (bar on far right), a sort of volume knob that could adjust the probability that an incoming signal would result in an outgoing signal. If the neuron did fire, a capacitor (red) on the other end of the neuron retained a memory of the firing for a few seconds. If the system was “rewarded”—either by the researchers pushing a button or an electrical signal from an outside circuit—a chain connected to the volume knobs for all 40 neurons would crank. This would cause the volume knob to increase the future probability of the neuron firing, but only if a magnetic clutch had been engaged by a recent firing.
COURTESY OF MARGARET MINSKY

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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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