Overview of AI

Key words such as these are frequently mentioned when discussing these ideas, however they are not completely interchangeable.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) encompasses the whole field of getting computers to mimic human behaviour, whether this is recognising images, having a conversation or directing complex systems, such as air traffic control.
• Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence, which describes algorithms or systems which learn rules and reasoning from data being provided to them, rather than hard coded rules provided to the system.
• Deep Learning refers to a subset of machine learning algorithms that makes use of algorithms known as ‘deep neural networks’ . These complex algorithms were inspired by the way neurons work within the human brain

Although the advancements in AI have been fairly recent, the first ideas of artificial intelligence came shortly after the invention of the first programmable computers. Below is a timeline of some of the important developments in AI. You don’t have to understand all the terms, but as the course progresses, you may start to see these terms pop up.