Why AI is called artificial intelligence, and what is “open” about it
Why AI is called artificial intelligence, and what is “open” about it
Publish Date: 2026-02-16 01:21:00
Source Domain: www.indiatoday.in
The debate around artificial intelligence has gained momentum as India hosts the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi from February 16 to 20. The event, held at Bharat Mandapam, brings together global leaders, technology experts, startups and policymakers to discuss future skills, responsible AI use and economic impact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the summit at its opening, underlining India’s ambition to play a leading role in shaping AI policy, innovation and workforce readiness. The summit also features an exhibition showcasing real-world AI applications across sectors.
Artificial intelligence, better known as AI, sounds modern, but the term is almost 70 years old. It was created to explain a simple but bold idea, “can machines think like humans?” Since then, AI has gone from theory to daily use, powering search engines, voice assistants, and writing tools. Still, the word “artificial” remains central.
It separates machine-made thinking from natural human intelligence and reminds us that AI is designed, trained, and controlled by people. As debates around AI grow louder, understanding why it is called artificial intelligence helps explain both its promise and its limits.
ORIGINS OF THE TERM
The phrase “artificial intelligence” was first used in 1955 in a research proposal by John McCarthy along with Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester and Claude Shannon. The proposal led to the 1956 Dartmouth College summer workshop, widely seen as the birth of AI as a field.
The goal was to explore whether machines could perform tasks linked to human thinking, such as learning or problem-solving. McCarthy chose the word “artificial” to clearly show that this intelligence would be human-made, not biological. It also helped separate the field from older, broader ideas like cybernetics.
The word “artificial” points to how AI works. Machines do not think naturally. They follow algorithms, learn from data, and copy patterns found in human…
