DEV Community

Cover image for What Is an A.I
Phaneendra-Gullapalli
Phaneendra-Gullapalli

Posted on

What Is an A.I

What is Artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence commonly referred to as "AI" is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI is an interdisciplinary science with multiple approaches, but advancements in machine learning and deep learning are creating a paradigm shift in virtually every sector of the tech industry.
Alt Text
Where did AI come from ?
Intelligent robots and artificial beings first appeared in the ancient Greek myths of Antiquity. Aristotle's development of the syllogism and its use of deductive reasoning was a key moment in mankind's quest to understand its own intelligence. While the roots are long and deep, the history of artificial intelligence as we think of it today spans less than a century. The following is a quick look at some of the most important events in AI.
In 1950 , Alan Turing also known as "The Father of Computer Science" published the book named "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", proposing what is now known as the Turing Test, a method for determining if a machine is intelligent.
In 1956, The phrase artificial intelligence was coined at the "Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence", which was led by John McCarthy who coined the term Artificial Intelligence, the conference, which defined the scope and goals of AI, is widely considered to be the birth of artificial intelligence as we know it today.
In 1997 , IBM's Deep Blue beats world chess champion Gary Kasparov.
In 2011 , IBM's Watson trounces the competition on Jeopardy!.

In 2014 , Google makes first self-driving car to pass a state driving test.
Alt Text
How is AI used ?

Artificial Intelligence usually falls into 2 main categories:

  1. Narrow AI and
  2. Artificial General Intelligence.
  3. Narrow AI :
    Narrow AI is all around us and is easily the most successful realization of artificial intelligence to date. With its focus on performing specific tasks, Narrow AI has experienced numerous breakthroughs in the last decade that have had "significant societal benefits and have contributed to the economic vitality of the nation," according to "Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence," a 2016 report released by the Obama Administration.
    A few examples of Narrow AI include:
    • Google search
    • Image recognition software
    • Siri, Alexa and other personal assistants
    • Self-driving cars
    • IBM's Watson

  4. Artificial General Intelligence :
    The creation of a machine with human-level intelligence that can be applied to any task is the Holy Grail for many AI researchers, but the quest for AGI has been fraught with difficulty.
    The search for a "universal algorithm for learning and acting in any environment," (Russel and Norvig 27) isn't new, but time hasn't eased the difficulty of essentially creating a machine with a full set of cognitive abilities.
    AGI has long been the muse of dystopian science fiction, in which super-intelligent robots overrun humanity, but experts agree it's not something we need to worry about anytime soon.

Top comments (0)