Introduction to AI
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence, more commonly referred to as ‘AI’., is intelligence that is shown through machines and robotics, as opposed to natural intelligence that humans and animals share. Whilst AI used to be described as ‘any task performed by a machine that would have previously been considered to require human intelligence’, by the fathers of the field, John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky, it has been updated in recent years and instead been claimed to be more about adaption than actual intelligence. AI is becoming ever more present in today’s society, with more and more households having AI systems help them with certain needs and queries.
What is AI?
Usually, AI will demonstrate at least one factor linked with human intelligence. These factors can include – Planning, problem-solving, knowledge representation, perception and motion. To give an example, Amazon’s Alexa deals with planning, problem solving and knowledge representation, amongst other traits and behaviours. Alexa and other virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Google Assistant are part of the Narrow AI group. Whilst the idea for artificial intelligence isn’t new in and of itself, the technology is new. The has led to AI being split into two categories at the highest level, helping categorise and determine the different types of AI. There are two main categories of AI. Narrow AI as mentioned earlier, and General AI. We will delve deeper into this topic in upcoming lessons.