Logic Theorist was the first artificial intelligence program, created by Allen Newell, Herbert A. Simon, and Cliff Shaw in 1956. It was designed to mimic human problem-solving skills and proved 38 of the first 52 theorems in Whitehead and Russell’s Principia Mathematica.
Historical Significance
Logic Theorist is considered the first AI program because it was designed to think like a human, not just calculate. It used heuristics—rules of thumb—to search for proofs, mimicking how mathematicians approach problems rather than exhaustively checking all possibilities.
Key Innovations
The program introduced concepts fundamental to AI:
- Heuristic Search: Using rules of thumb to guide problem-solving
- Symbol Manipulation: Processing symbolic expressions, not just numbers
- List Processing: Data structures that would influence Lisp
The Dartmouth Conference
Logic Theorist was demonstrated at the 1956 Dartmouth Conference, the founding event of AI as a field. Its ability to prove mathematical theorems—including finding a more elegant proof than the original for one theorem—showed that machines could perform tasks previously thought to require human intelligence.
Legacy
Logic Theorist established the symbolic AI approach that dominated the field for decades. Its creators’ later work, including the General Problem Solver, continued to explore how computers could simulate human reasoning.