Always? Maybe for the past 15-20 years but for the 50 years before that there wasn't much investment or interest from executives. AI was mostly about research and niche applications.
AI has always been a marketing term. As soon as it has a useful application it is named around its utility. Search, recognition, generation, classification, etc. AI is the term you use when you can't easily describe what you're doing.
It's true that in the early years, much of the investment was public money—but the above still stands.
It's true that in the early years, much of the investment was public money—but the above still stands.