Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans.
Artificial intelligence is one of the most fascinating and polarising topics in existence. Some people believe that artificial intelligence will eventually lead to the demise of the human race, while others believe that it is the key to unlocking a new level of understanding and knowledge.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, there is no denying that artificial intelligence is a fascinating topic.
Here are ten fun facts about Artificial Intelligence:
1. AI was first coined by John McCarthy, an American computer scientist, in 1956 at the Dartmouth Conference where he proposed the idea of creating a machine that could think and learn like a human.
2. The term “artificial intelligence” has been used in popular culture since the 1950s, when it was first introduced into science fiction literature by Isaac Asimov in his short story “Runaround”.
3. Some of the earliest examples of AI include Samuel Morse’s telegraph which transmitted messages using dots and dashes, and Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine which could perform simple mathematical calculations.
4. In recent years, AI has made significant advances with the help of deep learning, a subfield of machine learning where algorithms are able to learn from data without being explicitly programmed.
5. Deep learning has led to breakthroughs in fields such as image recognition and natural language processing, and has even surpassed human performance in certain tasks such as classifying images from ImageNet or playing Go against world champion Lee Sedol.
6. Currently, there are two main types of artificial intelligence: weak AI or narrow AI which is designed to perform specific tasks; and strong AI or general AI which is capable of performing any task that a human can do including reasoning, problem solving and creative thinking. One example of weak AI is IBM Watson which beat human champions on the game show Jeopardy!
7. Other notable examples of AI include self-driving cars, facial recognition technology, computer chatbots and digital assistants such as Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri.
8. Machines can already do things that would normally require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language and recognising objects.
9. Some experts believe that artificial intelligence will eventually surpass human intelligence.
10. Some notable artificial intelligence achievements include: a computer program that can beat a human expert at the game of Go, a robot that can run and jump like a human and algorithms that can write articles and generate realistic images.
