How Language Led To The Artificial Intelligence Revolution - ARC

In 2013 I had a long interview with Peter Lee, corporate vice president of Microsoft Research, about advances in machine learning and neural networks and how language would be the focal point of artificial intelligence in the coming years. At the time the notion of artificial intelligence and machine learning seemed like a "blue sky" researcher's fantasy. Artificial intelligence was something coming down the road … but not soon. I wish I had taken the talk more seriously. Language is, and will continue to be, the most important tool for the advancement of artificial intelligence.