Artificial intelligence 101: What is it and how does it work?

Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a broad term that refers to the ability of machines and computers to perform human tasks that require intelligence and discernment. Artificial intelligence is widely used in technology today, from Siri’s voice-control system on your iPhone to Tesla’s self-driving cars. Let’s take a look at what AI really means, how it works, and why it’s become so popular in recent years.

Artificial Intelligence - history
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time. It dates back to 1956 when Alan Turing introduced what he called an imitation game. The idea was simple; if a computer can fool humans into thinking that they are talking to another human, then it can be considered intelligent. In 1966 Herbert Simon and Allan Newell independently published their research on machine learning which was inspired by Newell’s attempt to create informal logical reasoning programs. They both focused their research on finding rules of inference or ways of thinking that people tend to use often in their decision-making processes, so that AI could use those same patterns of logic to determine solutions for problems.

The brain
The human brain holds 100 billion neurons, also known as nerve cells, which make up different connections within themselves. These connections control thoughts, actions, and memories. Artificial Intelligence (AI) works as a brain by using various algorithms to determine what will happen next in a situation, making decisions along with possible predictions. These types of machines can process information faster than humans because they do not need to sleep or eat. They can hold massive amounts of data and compute it in milliseconds. AI works through artificial neural networks that are complex programs designed to simulate neural connections between neurons in human brains; however, there are still many hurdles for scientists to overcome before true AI has been achieved.

Types of artificial intelligence
There are three main ways that AI can be used. The first is narrow AI, which refers to programs or machines that have been trained to do one thing extremely well. For example, a machine could be designed for image recognition so that you could give it an image of your car keys and it would know what they look like. The second type of AI is weak AI, or artificial general intelligence, where machines learn from experience but don't necessarily have specific programming for something.

How artificial intelligence can be used today
Artificial intelligence, which includes both narrow AIs (sometimes called weak AI) and general AI (aka strong AI), can be used in several key ways to make existing applications better. For example, we use artificial intelligence to help predict user behavior and future needs so that companies can better meet those needs. An online shopping company may use artificial intelligence as a customer service agent or chatbot. It can predict what you might need next or suggest an item based on what you just bought. Even before chatbots became popular, Amazon was using similar technology under the hood of its website to suggest items for users to purchase after browsing different categories.