AI Tech First Project

The first coordinated AI research at MIT began in 1959 when John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky founded the Artificial Intelligence Project as part of both the Research Laboratory for Electronics (RLE) in Building 26 and the Computation Center.

MIT

Artificial intelligence (AI), sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines, unlike the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals.

AI often revolves around the use of algorithms. An algorithm is a set of unambiguous instructions that a mechanical computer can execute.[b] A complex algorithm is often built on top of other, simpler, algorithms. A simple example of an algorithm is the following (optimal for the first player) recipe for play at tic-tac-toe:

1. If someone has a “threat” (that is, two in a row), take the remaining square. Otherwise,
2. if a move “forks” to create two threats at once, play that move. Otherwise,
3. take the center square if it is free. Otherwise,
4. if your opponent has played in a corner, take the opposite corner. Otherwise,
5. take an empty corner if one exists. Otherwise,
6. take any empty square.