Discover the two primary factors that led to the First Winter of AI in the 1970s – unrealistic hype and insufficient investment. Learn how these issues stalled early AI progress.
Table of Contents
Question
What were the main causes of the First Winter of AI? Select the two that apply.
A. High expectations
B. Buggy program code and slow language execution
C. Lack of funding
D. Intellectual property theft
Answer
The two main causes of the First Winter of AI in the 1970s were:
A. High expectations
C. Lack of funding
Explanation
High expectations and lack of funding were the main causes of the First Winter of AI.
In the early days of artificial intelligence research in the 1950s and 60s, there was tremendous excitement and hype around the potential of AI. Researchers made very bold predictions about AI systems soon being able to match or exceed human-level intelligence at a wide range of tasks. However, these predictions turned out to be wildly unrealistic given the state of AI technology at the time. When AI failed to live up to the lofty expectations, disappointment and disillusionment set in.
At the same time, funding for AI research, which had flowed freely early on, began to dry up. Government agencies and other institutions that had invested heavily in AI became skeptical that the technology could deliver on its promises. With less funding available, many AI labs and projects were forced to downsize or shut down entirely.
The combination of dashed hopes from AI overpromising and under-delivering, along with the lack of money to continue research, ushered in the First Winter of AI. Progress and interest in artificial intelligence entered a period of decline and stagnation that lasted into the 1980s, until advances in neural networks and expert systems helped bring about an AI revival.
So in summary, the two key factors were unrealistically high expectations for AI’s capabilities, and a subsequent lack of funding when AI failed to meet those expectations. Slower-than-expected technical progress due to buggy code or intellectual property issues were much less important factors compared to the overall hype-to-disappointment trajectory and defunding of the field.
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