How does a computer learn the human language? Could a computer really understand the meaning of words? What does this mean for us humans and our future? In this WikiChapter, we explore the idea of whether computers are capable of learning and understanding the human language.

To start, let’s take a look at the history of the development of artificial language processing capabilities. The timeline below tracks the history of artificial language processing, from the invention of the very first computer in 1822 to the present moment where computers are able to successfully use language. 

To explore the timeline, click on the right arrow to move forward. You may click the left arrow to return to any previous phase of computer development.

Computers are getting more sophisticated in learning the human language. But does this mean that computers are getting better at understanding the meaning of human language? The rest of the Wikichapter explores the answers to this question in the following sections: