[DennisP]

I do realize, but I'm not saying let's try to jump right into general intelligence. Deep neural networks do all sorts of reasonably smart things right now, including all the things I mentioned. Seems to me we are at a point where we can test neural models to see whether they actually perform functions useful to an organism.

[FakeRemore]

The first neural networks appeared in the 50s (with significant limitations), and proper research into them and appropriate funding first started in the 80s. NN's didn't become a thing overnight, and neither will this. I'm not sure why you're expecting this thing to be proven now. Science is slow. It takes time to build evidence and "prove" things and figure out how useful a model is.

[DennisP]

Perceptrons were applied to image recognition tasks right from the beginning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptron#History

Applying them to real tasks revealed their capabilities and limitations, and when computers got better people took it from there.