Science & Space
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a broad field concerned with machine-based systems that generate predictions, content, recommendations, decisions, or other goal-directed outputs.
Artificial intelligence is a broad field involving machine-based systems that infer how to generate outputs from the inputs they receive. Depending on the system, those outputs may include predictions, recommendations, decisions, classifications, or generated content that influences digital or physical environments.
The formal field is commonly traced to the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence in 1956, organized by John McCarthy and other researchers. Modern AI includes knowledge-based methods and machine learning, while generative AI refers specifically to systems designed to produce new content such as text, images, audio, or video.
Quick facts
- AI systems can generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, and decisions.
- Different AI systems operate with different levels of autonomy and adaptability.
- The term artificial intelligence was introduced in connection with a Dartmouth research proposal and workshop in the 1950s.
- The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence took place in 1956.
- Generative AI is a class of AI designed to create synthetic content such as text, images, audio, and video.
A surprising fact
The name artificial intelligence was established before the 1956 Dartmouth workshop, appearing in the proposal written to organize the meeting.
