Artificial intelligence is the ability of a machine to learn how to perform tasks without explicit human instructions. British mathematician Alan Turing is considered one of the pioneers behind the development of the idea of artificial intelligence, although he did not coin the term itself. He believed that true thinking machines should be able to solve problems in a similar way to humans to be considered self-directed, which is known as the “Turing Test”.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
There is no universally accepted or standard definition of artificial intelligence, but the generally accepted definition describes it as “machines that respond to stimuli in ways consistent with conventional human responses, given the human capabilities for reflection, judgment, and intention.” It is noted that Professor John McCarthy from Stanford University was the first person to use the term “artificial intelligence,” describing it as “making a machine behave in ways that can be called intelligent if a human were to behave in the same way.” The behavior of artificial intelligence may involve problem-solving, learning based on past and present data, and planning future actions based on what has been learned.
How does Artificial Intelligence Work?
Artificial intelligence comes in various forms, but it is a general capability to use real-time data to make decisions. A machine or program can obtain this data through sensors or remote or digital inputs. Afterwards, the artificial intelligence must analyze the data before making a decision, which distinguishes it from pre-programmed machines.
Types of Artificial Intelligence
Generally, there are four main categories of artificial intelligence: reactive, limited memory, theory of mind, and self-awareness. These types can be seen as an evolutionary spectrum; each type builds on the complexity of the previous one.
Reactive
This is the simplest type of artificial intelligence. Modern reactive artificial intelligence can build upon assessing the current situation but is not capable of building a repository of memories to draw on in the future.
Limited Memory
Based on the reactive category, limited memory artificial intelligence can “remember” past experiences as programmatic representations of its environment, and then integrates these memories into future decisions.
Theory of Mind
This type of artificial intelligence is more advanced than limited memory. A theory of mind artificial intelligence, which takes its name from a psychological term, can attribute mental states such as beliefs, intentions, desires, emotions, and knowledge to others. If this seems futuristic, it is because this type of artificial intelligence has not actually been developed yet.
Self-Awareness
Self-aware artificial intelligence goes beyond theory of mind, as it possesses the ability to form representations about itself and, thus, has self-awareness.
Artificial Intelligence vs. Machine Learning
Due to the lack of a unified definition and the existence of many related terms, it can be challenging to distinguish between artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Artificial intelligence is an umbrella term and is not precisely defined. Machine learning, on the other hand, is a specific application of artificial intelligence where machines learn from data and change over time to make better decisions about that data. Machine learning is primarily used to process large amounts of information quickly.
An example of machine learning is how social media platforms learn about the type of content you will likely enjoy most—posts and ads—based on how you interact with content on the platform.
Key Takeaways
Artificial intelligence is the capability of a device or computer program to make decisions instead of merely performing a task based on direct human instructions. There are four distinct categories of artificial intelligence, although applications of theory of mind and self-awareness have not yet been developed. Applications of artificial intelligence in finance include analyzing large amounts of data related to loans to make predictive decisions and using robo-advisors to manage investments. While the two terms are related, machine learning is a specific application of artificial intelligence.
Source:
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-is-artificial-intelligence-5094322
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