Hey everyone! If you're anything like me, you've probably heard a lot about artificial intelligence lately. It's in the news, it's in our phones, and it's even writing blog posts (well, sort of!). But have you ever stopped to wonder how we got here? How did we go from clunky, basic computer programs to the sophisticated AI systems we see today? Let's take a little trip down memory lane, shall we? The Early Days: Rule-Based Systems Back in the early days of AI, things were pretty simple. We were dealing with what are called "rule-based systems." Imagine a computer program that follows a set of "if-then" rules. For example, "IF it's raining, THEN take an umbrella." These systems were good at specific tasks, like playing chess or solving mathematical problems, but they were limited by the rules we programmed into them. If a situation fell outside those rules, the system was stumped. Think of it like a really detailed instruction m...