The early days

Machine learning history starts in 1943 with the first mathematical model of neural networks presented in the scientific paper “A logical calculus of the ideas immanent in nervous activity” by Walter Pitts and Warren McCulloch.

Then, in 1949, the book The Organization of Behavior by Donald Hebb is published. The book had theories on how behavior relates to neural networks and brain activity and would go on to become one of the monumental pillars of machine learning development.

In 1950 Alan Turing created the Turing Test to determine if a computer has real intelligence. To pass the test, a computer must be able to fool a human into believing it is also human. He presented the principle in his paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence while working at the University of Manchester. It opens with the words: “I propose to consider the question, ‘Can machines think?’”