After Dartmouth
Sputnik and ICBMs
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union's R-7 Semyorka, the world's first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), launched a satellite into outer space. It was called Sputnik and, seemingly overnight, it changed everything. It was difficult for Americans to comprehend how a 180 pound metal sphere could orbit the Earth in less than the time it takes to watch a movie, and not fall from the sky. What Americans could comprehend was the newfound ability of the USSR to hit the USA with a nuclear bomb riding atop an R-7 ICBM. Whether it was an actual threat or not, the prospect of Soviet rockets reaching US airspace was a wake-up call for America. And it got to work immediately.
Aside from some vague fears and scattered media hype about "electronic brains" taking over jobs or even humanity, there was little thought of the concept of artificial intelligence in 1957. American culture was marked by post-war prosperity, the rise of consumerism, Cold War tensions, and early signs of social change that would characterize the next decade.
1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air
The post-war economic boom was in full swing, with a strong middle class, suburban expansion, and increased consumer spending. The Interstate Highway System (approved in 1956) expanded, making road trips and suburban commutes easier. Cars like the Chevy Bel Air and Ford Fairlane were symbols of American freedom. Over 40 million U.S. homes now had TVs and America watched popular shows like "I Love Lucy", although the final episode aired in 1957, and "Leave It to Beaver", which had its debut in 1957. "The Ed Sullivan Show" was immensely popular, especially when it featured rock 'n' roll performers like Elvis Presley.
Feeling threatened by the new Soviet technology, America responded by establishing NASA, founded DARPA, launched Explorer, the first US satellite, and enacted the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), pouring millions of dollars into science and technology education and institutions. Artificial Intelligence was the indirect recipient of some of the funds made possible by programs like NASA, DARPA, and NDEA. While these programs didn't write checks for AI, they in effect trained the people, built the labs, and developed the computers that made AI research possible.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one of the best known, and highest funded, US government agencies. Its success culminated in putting men on the moon as part of the space race in the 1960s and beyond...
The NDEA is less well known to the general public, but very well known to educational institutions that received funding for research projects, including AI research. The NDEA was the unseen catalyst of AI; funding the foundations of AI like university computer science programs, supporting key AI ancillary fields such as mathematics for algorithms and logic-based AI, and feeding talent into defense-AI projects like LISP.
John McCarthy, fresh off the Dartmouth Conference of 1956, was the recipient of some of these funds. He invented LISP (an acronym for LISt Processor) in 1958, the first programming language designed specifically for AI research. Its elegant design, flexibility, and symbolic processing capabilities made it the dominant language in AI for decades.
The insight for LISP came from the Dartmouth Conference, from Newell and Simon's presentation of the Logic Theorist.
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Links
AI in America home page
Biographies of AI pioneers