The evolution of artificial intelligence did not begin in 2022 with ChatGPT or image generators - it stretches back nearly a century to the earliest ideas of machine learning and computational logic. Today’s generative AI (GenAI), while seemingly novel, owes much to the foundations laid by video game development in the 1990s and the decades of innovation that followed. This timely and accessible volume traces the rich historical roots of AI, offering readers a clear-eyed understanding of how past innovations have shaped the current landscape and where the technology is likely to lead us next. While the future of AI holds immense potential, it also presents profound legal and ethical challenges. Central to this book is a focused examination of how longstanding legal doctrines like copyright, privacy, and intellectual property are now being tested by advancing AI technologies in unprecedented ways. Grounded in the belief that "what's past is prologue," this book provides both historical insight and forward-looking analysis.