> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://caseytechschool.gitbook.io/ai-classroom-activities/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://caseytechschool.gitbook.io/ai-classroom-activities/artificial-intelligence.md).

# Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems capable of performing complex tasks that historically only a human could do, such as reasoning, making decisions, or solving problems.

The concept of AI first emerged in the 1950s, but ideas about intelligent machines date back much further in human history, with mechanical automatons and imagined humanoid robots appearing in ancient myths and fiction.

The modern field of AI was largely sparked by Alan Turing's 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence". In it, he poses the pivotal question: "Can machines think?" To evaluate whether machines can exhibit intelligent behavior, he devised the now famous Turing Test.

<div align="center"><figure><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Turing_test_diagram.png" alt="Turing test" width="375"><figcaption><p>Turing test</p></figcaption></figure></div>

While no AI has fully passed the complex Turing Test yet, systems have come close recently. Thanks to rapid advances in the field over the past 20 years, AI and machine learning now power many everyday technologies and tools that would have seemed like science fiction just a decade ago.


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