Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science focused on building systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence.

In practical terms, AI systems are designed to perceive, learn, reason, and act. Common capabilities include:

  • Learning from data (e.g., recognizing patterns, improving with experience)
  • Understanding language (speech recognition, translation, chatbots)
  • Seeing and interpreting images or video (face recognition, medical imaging)
  • Making decisions or predictions (recommendation systems, fraud detection)
  • Solving problems autonomously (game playing, robotics)

 

Main types of AI

  • Narrow AI (Weak AI): Specialized systems built for a specific task. This is all the AI we have today—examples include voice assistants, self-driving features, and recommendation algorithms.
  • General AI (Strong AI): A hypothetical form of AI that could understand and learn any intellectual task a human can. This does not yet exist.

 

How AI works (at a high level)

Most modern AI relies on:

  • Machine learning: Algorithms that learn patterns from data
  • Neural networks / deep learning: Models inspired by the brain that handle complex data like images and language
  • Large datasets and computing power: Fuel that allows models to learn effectively

 

What AI is not

  • It is not conscious
  • It does not think or feel
  • It does not “understand” things the way humans do—it processes patterns mathematically

 

Other Terminology related to Artificial Intelligence

  • Agentic AI: Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can act as agents—they don’t just respond to prompts, but can set goals, make plans, take actions, and adapt based on results, often with limited human supervision. You can learn more here.
  • Generative AI: Generative AI – also referred to as GenAI – is a type of artificial intelligence that creates new content—rather than just analyzing or classifying existing data. You can learn more here.
  • Machine Learning: Machine Learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence where computers learn from data instead of being explicitly programmed with rules. You can learn more here.
  • Predictive / Analytical AI: Predictive / Analytical AI is a type of artificial intelligence focused on analyzing data to find patterns and make predictions or decisions—not creating new content. You can learn more here.