What is AI?

AI refers to the development of “intelligent” technologies and systems capable of solving complex problems. It spans various fields, including computer science, engineering, mathematics, linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy. A machine is considered "intelligent" if it can reason, adapt, and learn at or above the level of a human.

Where does AI come from?

The concept of AI isn't new. Back in the 1950s, scientists, technicians, and philosophers were already exploring the idea of “thinking machines.” You might remember the film "The Imitation Game," which depicts Alan Turing’s experiment of asking questions to two hidden respondents, one human and one machine. He proposed that if it wasn’t possible to distinguish between them based on their responses, then the machine could think.

Since then, AI has evolved from a theoretical idea to a practical reality. A significant milestone was reached in 1997 when a supercomputer defeated the world chess champion by calculating every possible move at lightning speed. Another breakthrough came in 2011 when a supercomputer won the quiz show "Jeopardy!" by understanding and responding to language.

Why is AI everywhere all of a sudden?

We are currently in an “AI boom,” driven by three main factors:

1. Big data: Our ability to store and process massive amounts of complex data has grown exponentially. Every email, social media interaction, search query, and streamed song or movie generates data. AI can extract valuable insights from this data.
2. Cloud computing: Powerful computing resources are now accessible over the internet. Instead of purchasing expensive supercomputers, we can rent clouds on-demand from providers like Microsoft and Google. This makes AI more cost-effective, scalable, and flexible.
3. Deep learning models: Inspired by the human brain, deep learning models teach computers to recognise patterns in data, such as images, text, and sounds. These models are behind many recent AI advancements.

What are the different types of AI?

We can categorise AI based on the tasks they perform:

• Natural language processing: AI systems that understand and process text and written information, like chatbots and automatic translation tools (e.g., Google Translate and Deepl).
• Computer vision: AI that interprets visual information, such as facial recognition.
• Speech recognition: Systems that understand spoken language, like Siri and Alexa.
• Recommender systems: AI used by e-commerce sites and streaming services to suggest personalised content.
• Expert systems: AI that makes decisions, like online loan approvals by banks.
• Robotics: AI systems interacting with the physical environment, like autonomous drones and self-driving cars.
• Generative AI: AI that creates new content, like ChatGPT for text and Midjourney for artwork.

Many AI systems overlap categories. For instance, ChatGPT is both a natural language processing system and generative AI. All AI systems fall under "artificial narrow intelligence." That means that it’s designed for specific tasks: a version of AI that surpasses human intelligence across all areas remains hypothetical and in the realm of science fiction.