The document discusses the evolution and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) from its inception in the 1950s through multiple 'AI winters' due to the underestimation of the complexities involved, especially in common sense reasoning and machine vision. It emphasizes the importance of data as the key enabler for practical AI applications and outlines several lessons for enterprises, such as narrowing problem domains and managing data as an asset, to effectively leverage AI technologies. The document highlights successful AI applications in various fields, while cautioning against AI hype and the need for a pragmatic approach to implementation.