Analyzing the AI Timeline: Past, Present, and the Future

AI is a recent phenomenon, right? What if we told you it has been around since the WW2? The term AI or Artificial Intelligence, first surfaced about 70 years ago during the World War 2, when British mathematician and statistical analysis expert Alan Turing built an intelligent machine that could trick people into believing that they were interacting with a fellow human.

Back then, AI was a concept that few understood, but many were excited about. Scientists had ambitious plans and businessmen were willing to fund it. However, given the pace of scientific developments during the early years, there was little progress to show.


Source: factordaily

Fast forward to 2018 where some of the most valuable companies in the world are Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. And each of them is heavily employing deep learning and artificial intelligence for purposes ranging from building home automation systems to driverless vehicles. The pace of development is rapid and it is being said that in the next few years, AI-driven bots may completely replace some human jobs.

AI in numbers

1. To see AI’s rise in the recent past, let’s put into perspective some numbers 

2. Since 2000, there has been a 1400% increase in the number of active AI startups.

3. Investments in AI-related startups have increased about 6 times since the start of the millennium.

4. In the past 5 years alone, the percentage of jobs requiring AI skillsets have increased by almost 450%.

AI in the recent past and today

In the past five years, we’ve seen a lot of AI-related tools seeping into our lives. We’re so attuned to them that at times we forget that we’re actively making use of AI. Google Maps has changed the way we commute, customer service has improved heavily thanks to smart chat-bots that can resolve customer queries instantly, and almost every major corporation is employing customer analytics to study their preferences and create highly personalized offers.

 

The future of AI

Starting from 2016, here’s the future timeline of what experts believe AI can supposedly accomplish –


Source: cdn.technologyreview

Every morning, we read about AI related developments that are going to come into fruition in the near future. Uber has already confirmed its massive use of machine learning techniques to optimize ride-time, to share ETAs with customers, and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick commented that the timeline for self-driven Ubers is a year’s thing, not a decade!

 

What about the jobs?

Sadly, job loss is one of the byproducts of technological development. However, it’s also an opportunity of landing coveted jobs in the field of big data analytics and machine learning. Let’s look at some stats –

1. The two most sought-after professional skills according to Monster.com are Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

2. 26% of marketers see AI as the next big marketing trend and are looking to hire talent in this field.

3. Companies are slated to spend almost $7.5 billion on AI in the next four years, up from $2 billion.

 The time ahead belongs to those who are skilled in future technologies like AI, machine learning, and neural networks. Are you prepared to make the most of these opportunities? Take a look at our PG Certificate Program in Artificial Intelligence & Deep Learning course to understand how you can make it big in this industry.