Funding
4 milestones in AI history
Perceptrons: The Book That Killed Neural Networks
Minsky and Papert published 'Perceptrons,' mathematically proving that single-layer perceptrons could not solve the XOR problem or other non-linearly separable tasks. While technically correct, the book was widely interpreted as proving neural networks were fundamentally limited — though multi-layer networks could solve these problems.
The Lighthill Report
British mathematician James Lighthill published a devastating critique of AI research, concluding that the field had failed to deliver on its promises. 'In no part of the field have the discoveries made so far produced the major impact that was then promised.' The report led to massive funding cuts for AI research in the UK.
Japan's Fifth Generation Computer Project
Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry launched a 10-year, $850 million project to build 'fifth generation' computers with AI capabilities — parallel processing machines that could understand natural language and reason like humans.
The Second AI Winter Begins
The expert systems bubble burst. LISP machine companies collapsed. The DARPA Strategic Computing Initiative was cut. Japan's Fifth Generation project was failing. Expert systems proved brittle, expensive to maintain, and unable to learn. The AI industry lost billions.