Artificial intelligence · 1998

MNIST dataset

70,000 handwritten digits become machine learning's standard test.

Built from NIST data by LeCun, Cortes and Burges, MNIST gave researchers a shared benchmark of 60,000 training and 10,000 test digits. It was the proving ground for new methods for two decades and the model for later benchmark datasets.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

LeNet-5 1998

What it led to 1

ImageNet 2009

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Training compute of notable AI models Source: Epoch AI, Notable AI Models (CC BY 4.0)

Computation per constant dollar, 1850-2006 Latest: 7.3B million units of computer power per 2006 $ (2003) Source: Nordhaus 2007, Two Centuries of Productivity Growth in Computing, J. Econ. Hist. 67(1), Table 6