# AI Winter **Domain:** Artificial Intelligence / Research History / Funding **Doc Type:** Canonical Historical Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition An **AI winter** is a period in which funding, institutional confidence and public expectations surrounding artificial intelligence contract sharply. ## Historical Context The 1970s contraction followed technical disputes, disappointed expectations and institutional decisions including the [[wiki/Lighthill Report|Lighthill Report]] and the termination of [[wiki/Speech Understanding Research|Speech Understanding Research]]. Research nevertheless continued across multiple countries and subfields. ## Historiographic Context The seasonal metaphor can naturalize decisions made by agencies, review panels and disciplines. [[articles/Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s|Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s]] therefore distinguishes a technical failure from a capability that institutions declined to continue recognizing or funding. ## See Also [[wiki/AI Effect|AI Effect]], [[wiki/Connectionism|Connectionism]], [[wiki/AI Benchmarking|AI Benchmarking]]