During the late 1980s, the Artificial Intelligence approach now known as nouvelle AI (new AI in a mix of french and english) was pioneered at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory by Rodney Brooks. Nouvelle AI is different from classical artificial intelligence in that it tries not to reach for human-level performance, but rather tries to create systems with intelligence at the level of insects. This approach had a large impact in Europe.
Eventually, at least at MIT, new AI did lead to an attempt for humanoid AI in the Cog Project.
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