Originally published in February 1950
“Could a machine be designed that would be capable of ‘thinking’? Some of the possibilities can be illustrated by setting up a computer in such a way that it will play a fair game of chess. Under some circumstances the machine might well defeat the program designer. Sufficiently nettled, however, the designer could easily weaken the playing skill of the machine by changing the program. The chief weakness of the machine is that it will not learn by its mistakes. —Claude E. Shannon” [Editors’ note: Shannon is considered to be the founder of the academic field of information theory.]
—Scientific American, February 1950
More gems from Scientific American’s first 175 years can be found on our anniversary archive page.
