How Artificial Intelligence Evolved From Chess Bots to Deep Learning

CrashCourse

This educational video traces the explosive evolution of computing power and artificial intelligence, moving from the hardware revolution of the 1960s to the software revolution of the modern era. It begins by explaining Moore's Law and the exponential growth of computing hardware, setting the stage for the development of early "Symbolic AI." The narrative uses the history of computer chess—from the 1957 Bernstein program to Deep Blue's victory over Kasparov—to illustrate the limitations of hard-coded logic and the transition to machine learning. The video then demystifies complex modern AI concepts, specifically Neural Networks and Deep Learning. Using the chess engine Stockfish as a case study, it explains how neural networks function like a human brain using nodes and weighted connections, rather than rigid instructions. It introduces the "Transformer" architecture that enables General Purpose AI (like Large Language Models) to process vast amounts of data simultaneously, leading to rapid advancements in capabilities ranging from writing code to generating video. Finally, the video explores how we measure AI progress through "Benchmarks" and "Scaling Laws." It explains the mathematical observation that increasing data and computing power consistently yields better performance, a principle driving the current AI boom. The content is highly relevant for computer science, history of technology, and social studies classrooms, offering a clear framework for understanding how AI works, how it has changed over time, and the trajectory of its future development.