introduction
This series of articles generally focuses on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). We’ll start by looking at what artificial intelligence is, and cover the different ways it can be implemented and applied using computers and modern technology in other articles.
Part 1 – Introduction
Artificial intelligence is a very broad field, and far from being isolated from computing, it encompasses many other disciplines such as philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology. It is important to note that rather than simply seeking to understand intelligence, AI practitioners also seek to build or create it. The uses and applications of artificial intelligence are many and varied, and although many think of humanoid robots when we discuss artificial intelligence, you might be surprised to know that we actually encounter an application of artificial intelligence in our daily lives.
Artificial intelligence is full of big questions – how does an entity (whether biological or mechanical) think? How do you understand or solve a problem? Can a machine really be smart? What is intelligence? Answering these questions may not be easy, but there is an answer staring in the mirror, so we know that striving to discover it is achievable.
Through this series of articles, I will explore the many different approaches, subfields, applications, and questions we encounter when exploring this broad and exciting research area.
Part 2 – What is Artificial Intelligence?
First, I would like to say that the term artificial intelligence (AI) means different things to different people. In fact, even the words we use to describe a subject are vague. The term synthetic can have a completely different meaning; Consider what we mean when we refer to “artificial light.” This is real light, created by a man-made source. It works exactly as we would expect light to work, and from the point of view of physicists it is simply “light”. However, when we refer to “artificial turf,” we are using the word synthetic to mean something completely different. Artificial turf is not grass. It is not a plant, is not made from the same material as the plant, and does not share all of the characteristics of real grass. However, it adequately performs the main functions of the herb, and may often deceive people into believing the presence of the herb.
The term intelligence is also open to interpretation, and so we end up with some very different definitions of what artificial intelligence actually is. However, the definitions we come up with tend to fall into one of two categories—either they focus on the process used to achieve the goal, or on the behavior. For example, Luger & Stubblefield define artificial intelligence as “The branch of computer science concerned with the automation of intelligent behaviorWhile Winston defines it as “The study of computations that make it possible to perceive the mind and act“.
We must also consider how we measure success, again there are two common criteria. We tend to evaluate our system when compared to human performance, or against an idealized concept of intelligence often referred to in the field as “rationality”. A system is rational if it makes the right decisions.
Broadly speaking, we end up with four plausible goals in producing AI — systems that think like humans, systems that act like humans, systems that think rationally, and systems that act rationally. In the next part of the series we will begin to examine each of them in more detail.