What Is Artificial Intelligence?
A plain-English introduction to AI: what it is, what it isn't, and how machines learn to make decisions.
Inspired by learning material from Google
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the field of building computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence — like recognizing images, understanding language, or making predictions.
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
- Artificial Intelligence is the broad goal: machines that act intelligently.
- Machine Learning (ML) is a subset of AI where systems learn patterns from data instead of being explicitly programmed.
- Deep Learning is a subset of ML that uses layered neural networks to learn very complex patterns.
How does a machine 'learn'?
Instead of writing rules by hand, we show the system many examples. It adjusts its internal parameters until its predictions match reality. This process is called training.
Everyday examples of AI
- Spam filters that flag junk email
- Recommendation systems on streaming and shopping apps
- Voice assistants that understand speech
- Navigation apps predicting traffic
Key takeaways
- AI is about machines performing intelligent tasks.
- Most modern AI is powered by machine learning — learning from data.
- You interact with AI dozens of times a day without noticing.