The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has its roots in ancient history, with early philosophical and mythological ideas about artificial beings and mechanical automata. However, the modern field of AI emerged in the mid-20th century with the pioneering work of several researchers:

1. **Alan Turing:** British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing is often considered one of the founding figures of AI. In 1950, Turing published the paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," which introduced the Turing Test as a criterion for determining whether a machine can exhibit intelligent behavior.

2. **John McCarthy:** American computer scientist John McCarthy coined the term "artificial intelligence" in 1956 and organized the Dartmouth Conference, which is widely regarded as the birth of the AI field. McCarthy made significant contributions to early AI research, including the development of the LISP programming language.

3. **Marvin Minsky:** American cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky was a key figure in early AI research. Along with John McCarthy, he co-founded the MIT AI Laboratory and made important contributions to AI theory, robotics, and neural networks.

4. **Herbert Simon and Allen Newell:** American psychologists Herbert Simon and Allen Newell developed the Logic Theorist program in 1956, which was the first AI program capable of solving symbolic problems. Simon and Newell's work laid the foundation for the development of problem-solving and reasoning systems in AI.

5. **Arthur Samuel:** American computer scientist Arthur Samuel is known for developing the first self-learning program, which he called the "Samuel Checkers-playing Program," in the late 1950s. Samuel's work on machine learning and game-playing algorithms paved the way for later advancements in AI.

These researchers, along with many others, played pivotal roles in laying the theoretical and practical foundations of AI and establishing it as a distinct field of study and research. Since then, AI has evolved rapidly, with ongoing advancements in machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, robotics, and other areas driving progress in the field.