impossible → routine
Reading handwriting
Reading handwriting by machine.
Impossible
A back-propagation network reads handwritten zip code digits supplied by the U.S. Postal Service, with a 1% error rate and a 9% reject rate.
1% error, 9% reject, isolated digits
source25 years, 4 months
Routine
Google ships Handwriting Input for Android, reading printed and cursive writing in 82 languages, with or without an internet connection.
82 languages, 20 scripts
sourceThe impossible end is dated to the opening day of NIPS 1989 (November 27–30, Denver), the conference where LeCun and colleagues presented the zip code result.