In 1956, humanity reached a turning point nobody talks about. 10 scientists gathered in college apartments to chase an idea the world called "science fiction." This was AI's Big Bang moment: Late summer in 1955... John McCarthy (a professor of mathematics at Dartmouth College) assembled an all-star team: • Marvin Minsky - cerebral Harvard mathematician • Nathaniel Rochester - IBM's practical engineer • Claude Shannon - information theory genius • Plus 6 other researchers Together, they drafted a research proposal for a two-month summer workshop at Dartmouth College. Their audacious goal? Prove that machines could simulate every aspect of human intelligence — learning, reasoning, language, problem-solving. McCarthy coined this radical new area of research: "Artificial Intelligence." It was the birth moment of AI. But finding anyone to fund this research would prove to be brutal ↓ McCarthy requested $13,500 (about $159,000 today) from potential funders. ...