From Word Counts to Transformers

Many people have been fascinated by the idea of using artificial intelligence (AI) for communication between men and machines. While HAL in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey turned out to be less helpful to its human crew, its modern incarnation has been fascinating millions. 

With the success of ChatGPT, natural language processing (NLP) has taken center stage in the public eye as it has become synonymous with (generative) AI. More recently, models like DeepSeek have captured headlines – and even moved markets – highlighting the transformative power of large language models (LLMs) beyond chats. But this breakthrough didn’t happen overnight. Generative AI and modern NLP are built on decades of progress, beginning with simple techniques like word counts and dictionaries. 

Let us take you on a journey from humble beginnings to the present and into the future.