Artificial Intelligence: a brief history

30/11/2025 Comunicação Simdea

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The Beginning: The Turing Test

The history of AI begins in the 1950s. The starting milestone is often attributed to Alan Turing, who in 1950 proposed the famous “Turing Test” in his paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence. The central question was simple, yet revolutionary: “Can machines think?”

Shortly after, in 1956, the term “Artificial Intelligence” was officially coined at a conference at Dartmouth College in the USA. It was here that visionary researchers defined the goal of creating machines that could simulate human intelligence.

The Highs and Lows: The AI Winter

The following decades were marked by initial optimism, with the creation of programs capable of solving algebra problems and proving theorems. However, expectations quickly outpaced the technological capabilities of the time.

In the 70s and 80s, AI faced what became known as the “AI Winter.” Funding dried up and interest cooled due to the lack of immediate practical results and the limited processing power of computers at the time.

The Renaissance: Machine Learning and Big Data

The turn of the millennium brought two fundamental ingredients that would change the game: increased processing power and the data explosion (Big Data).

Instead of trying to program machines with every possible rule (as was done in old symbolic AI), scientists began to focus on Machine Learning. Now, computers could “learn” on their own from large volumes of data, identifying patterns that would escape the human eye.

The Current Era: Generative AI and the Future of Business

Today, we live in the era of Deep Learning and Generative AI. Tools like ChatGPT and advanced virtual assistants demonstrate that the barrier between human and machine interaction is becoming increasingly blurred.

For companies, this translates into real opportunities:

Operational Efficiency: Automation of repetitive tasks.
Predictive Analysis: Anticipating market trends with precision.
Customer Experience: Real-time customization of services

Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence has come a long way, from an academic curiosity to an essential engine of the global economy. At Simdea, we believe that technology, no matter how complex its history, should serve a simple purpose: to make people’s lives easier and drive business forward.