Get to know AI

In this track, we're off in search of a suitable definition for AI. But we'll start with asking you something.

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Get to know AI

In this track, we're off in search of a suitable definition for AI. But we'll start with asking you something.

Work first started officially in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in 1956.

So the correct answer is 65 years. Click on the animation for a brief history.

And yet, many people have difficulty describing AI.

There are three possible explanations for that. Click to expand.

The field is constantly changing

The professional field is constantly changing. Even AI researchers can't agree on a suitable definition. The professional field is constantly changing: designs are scrapped and new ideas arrive. A few years ago, all the talk was about 'statistics' or 'business analytics'; now, it's called AI. The term seems to have become broader and more vague.

Science fiction wrong-foots us

In books and films, AI is often depicted as humanoid robots that are smarter and stronger than humans. By making robots humanoid, it's easier for the viewer or reader to identify with them. This makes it entertaining, but not particularly truthful. There's a reason it's called science fiction.

The term 'intelligence' is ambiguous

What do you think? Are you intelligent if you can play chess like a champion? And are you intelligent if you can play chess, but don't know how to pick up a chess piece? Things that are simple for a human to do are still impossible for a smart chess computer. So what is intelligence? Beating the world champion chess player, picking up a chess piece or neither?

We asked the expert.

Gerard Schouten is professor Big Data at Fontys Hogeschool ICT. He shines some light on some of the concepts and abbreviations.

'An algorithm is like a recipe', says Gerard Schouten.

Perhaps it's time now to dig a bit deeper in the world of algorithms.

Because, what is an algorithm anyway?

Click on the animation for an explanation.

Hopefully, you now know a bit more about what AI actually is.

It's about computers that use logic and data to carry out tasks. And you will come across those systems in all sorts of ways in the real world. Whether in algorithms that recommend the great songs in your telephone or robots that can perform surgery. In the following tracks, you'll learn exactly how that works.

Track 2 completed!

NEXT UP: AI and mobility

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