Machine Yearning: The Rise of Thoughtful Machines - Artifical Neural Networks

In the mid twentieth century, artificial intelligence researchers invented a new type of computational system that could detect patterns in images – a daunting task for previous technology. Because this new system comprised highly interconnected information-processing nodes, resembling the organization and function of the brain, it became known as an artificial neural network. At that time, neuroscience was still in its infancy, and our understanding of the brain was limited. Scientists knew that neurons could pass signals to other neurons. They had some idea that the connections between neurons were flexible, and that connection strengths could change.