by Angela Guess
Bernard Marr recently wrote in Forbes, “In this post I offer a quick trip through time to examine the origins of machine learning as well as the most recent milestones. 1950 — Alan Turing creates 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. 1952 — Arthur Samuel wrote the first computer learning program. The program was the game of checkers, and the IBM computer improved at the game the more it played, studying which moves made up winning strategies and incorporating those moves into its program. 1957 — Frank Rosenblatt designed the first neural network for computers (the perceptron), which simulate the thought processes of the human brain.”
Marr continues his history, “1967 — The “nearest neighbor” algorithm was written, allowing computers to begin using very basic pattern recognition. This could be used to map a route for traveling salesmen, starting at a random city but ensuring they visit all cities during a short tour. 1979 — Students at Stanford University invent the “Stanford Cart” which can navigate obstacles in a room on its own. 1981 — Gerald Dejong introduces the concept of Explanation Based Learning (EBL), in which a computer analyses training data and creates a general rule it can follow by discarding unimportant data.”
photo credit: Flickr/ Hanan Cohen