Artificial intelligence

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What you will leave with

Artificial intelligence is a field and family of systems that infer how to produce outputs from inputs in pursuit of explicit or implicit objectives.

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Connected glossary

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is a field and family of systems that infer how to produce outputs from inputs in pursuit of explicit or implicit objectives.

Plan for this page

Understand one concept in plain language and connect it to nearby ideas.

You will leave with: AI is not one machine, product, or level of intelligence. It includes many methods and systems that produce predictions, recommendations, content, classifications, plans, or actions, often as one component inside a larger product and human process.
Time: 3–8 min
Before you begin: No prerequisite. Keep one real example in mind.
Do this now: Read the explanation, then compare the example with the common misunderstanding.

Prepared next stepExplore the map of AI

Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is a field and family of systems that infer how to produce outputs from inputs in pursuit of explicit or implicit objectives.

Algorithm
Machine learning
Model
Generative AI

Plain explanation

AI is not one machine, product, or level of intelligence. It includes many methods and systems that produce predictions, recommendations, content, classifications, plans, or actions, often as one component inside a larger product and human process.

Example

A photo application that groups images by recognized objects and a language model that drafts text are both AI uses, although their methods and purposes differ.

Why it matters

The label is too broad to establish capability, reliability, or risk. Ask what the particular system receives, produces, can do, and how people use and control it.

Common misunderstanding

Misconception: AI means a human-like mind. Correction: many AI systems perform narrow functions without human-like understanding, consciousness, or general capability.

Related concepts

Follow relationships, not only the alphabet

AlgorithmAn algorithm is a defined procedure for turning inputs into results through a sequence of operations or rules.Machine learningMachine learning is an approach in which a model’s behavior is shaped by finding patterns in data or experience rather than only by fixed task rules.ModelA model is a learned or designed representation that maps inputs to outputs for a defined task or family of tasks.Generative AIGenerative AI produces new text, images, audio, video, code, or other content in response to context and controls.

Explore the map of AI

Sources and scope

What supports this object

Explanatory memorandum on the updated OECD definition of an AI systemOECD.AI

Provides a product-neutral system definition based on inputs, objectives, outputs and varying autonomy; commercial labels and legal definitions may use different boundaries.

Open source

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