What is Artificial Intelligence?
Also known as: AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the field of computer science focused on creating machines that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and decision-making.
AI works by using algorithms and data to enable computers to recognize patterns, make predictions, and adapt to new information without being explicitly programmed for every scenario.
Key ideas include symbolic AI, which relies on rules and logic, and statistical approaches like machine learning that improve performance through experience and large datasets.
Modern AI often combines multiple techniques to handle complex tasks in areas like perception, language, and problem-solving.
Example
A smartphone's voice assistant like Siri listens to spoken questions, understands the intent, searches for information, and responds in natural language.
Why it matters
AI powers many everyday technologies and drives innovation across industries by automating complex tasks and enabling systems to handle uncertainty and scale.
Frequently asked questions
AI is the broad goal of building intelligent machines, while machine learning is a specific method within AI that uses data to train models.
Related terms
Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence in which algorithms learn patterns from data to make predictions or decisions, rather than following hand-coded rules for every situation.
A neural network, or artificial neural network (ANN), is a computational model inspired by the human brain that learns to recognize patterns in data by passing information through layers of interconnected artificial neurons.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a branch of artificial intelligence that enables computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language in useful ways.
Computer Vision is a field of AI that enables computers to interpret and understand visual information from images and videos, similar to how humans see.
An expert system is a computer program that emulates the decision-making ability of a human expert in a narrow domain by applying a collection of if-then rules to known facts.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is a type of AI that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across any intellectual task at a human level or beyond, rather than being limited to narrow specialties.