Author:  A. Keller Affiliation:  Independent Researcher Abstract Artificial intelligence is often discussed as if it began with ChatGPT. In public conversation, the release of ChatGPT in November 2022 is frequently treated as the start of the AI era. This view is understandable because ChatGPT made advanced AI visible, usable, and emotionally immediate for millions of people. Yet it is historically inaccurate. Artificial intelligence as a field is usually traced back to the D