ISO - What is artificial intelligence (AI)?
The definition of artificial intelligence goes beyond simple automation – it’s the ability of machines to think, learn and adapt. No longer confined to routine tasks, AI now tackles . It understands language, detects patterns, makes decisions, and even predicts future outcomes with uncanny accuracy.
So what can AI do? Today’s AI is more powerful than ever. It sees, listens and responds. It learns from experience, refines its skills and integrates seamlessly into our daily lives. From personalized recommendations to fully autonomous systems, AI is transforming the way we innovate, compete and grow in real-time. Self-driving cars? That’s just the beginning.
AI has crossed a new threshold in the past year. – machines that don’t just process data, they create. They write code, compose music, generate lifelike images and videos, and even produce entire articles indistinguishable from human work.
At the heart of this revolution are and , the driving forces accelerating AI’s evolution. These technologies are rewriting the rules of innovation, transforming how we interact with technology, and unlocking a future we’re only beginning to imagine.
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AI technology is redefining how we live and work, driving smarter automation, deeper insights and more strategic decision-making. Here’s a look at the key benefits of AI.
AI takes efficiency to the next level by automating complex workflows and reducing human workload. In cybersecurity, AI-powered systems hunt down threats before they strike. In smart factories, robots with AI-driven vision spot defects, optimize production and keep operations seamless. And companies that use AI in business? They can scale faster, work smarter and do more with less.
Unlike humans, AI never slips up or gets distracted. It follows strict AI algorithms, ensuring pinpoint accuracy in finance, healthcare and manufacturing. From detecting fraud in banking to perfectly calibrated robotic surgeries, AI enhances reliability across industries.
Why waste time on mind-numbing work? AI in business handles document validation, call transcriptions and customer queries – freeing up human talent for creative problem-solving. In hazardous environments, AI-powered robots take over risky jobs, keeping workers safe.
AI processes vast amounts of data at lightning speed, uncovering patterns and insights far beyond human capabilities. It powers real-time financial fraud detection, medical diagnostics and predictive analytics, enabling professionals to stay ahead of the curve. In a world where speed and accuracy are everything, the benefits of AI are game-changing – faster decisions, sharper insights, and the confidence to act before it’s too late.
Forget downtime – AI works around the clock without breaks, fatigue or errors. From cybersecurity monitoring to healthcare diagnostics and customer support, AI technology ensures uninterrupted performance, keeping businesses and services running smoothly around the clock.
AI is reshaping research and development, driving discoveries in medicine, climate science and engineering. It speeds up drug discovery, deciphers genetic data for personalized medicine and optimizes renewable energy models. With AI, progress happens faster and smarter.
At its core, AI processes vast amounts of data, uncovering patterns and making predictions with remarkable precision. It achieves this by leveraging large datasets and intelligent AI algorithms – structured sets of rules that allow software to learn from patterns in the data. The driving force behind this capability? : complex systems of interconnected nodes that pass information through multiple layers to find connections and extract meaning from data.
To truly understand how AI works, we must unpack the following concepts:
AI spans a wide spectrum of capabilities, but essentially, it falls into two broad categories: weak AI and strong AI. Weak AI, often referred to as or , refers to systems designed to excel at specific tasks within well-defined parameters. These systems operate within a limited scope and lack the capacity for general intelligence. Think of them as highly specialized tools – efficient, precise, but confined to their programmed functions.
But don’t let the name fool you! Weak AI is anything but weak – it powers countless artificial intelligence applications we interact with daily. Examples of narrow AI are all around us. From Siri and Alexa’s instant responses to self-driving cars, ANI is the impetus behind today’s most advanced AI innovations.
Here are some real-world examples of AI applications powered by narrow AI:
Each of these applications showcases ANI’s ability to tackle specific tasks by leveraging large datasets and specialized algorithms. So, the next time you’re impressed by AI’s capabilities, remember – it’s weak AI driving these remarkable innovations, transforming our world in ways we once thought impossible.
Strong AI
Weak AI
In contrast to narrow AI, the concept of strong AI – also known as – aims to develop systems capable of handling a broad range of tasks with human-like proficiency. Unlike their task-specific ANI counterparts, strong AI systems aspire to possess a form of general intelligence that enables them to learn, adapt and apply knowledge across multiple domains. The ultimate goal? To create artificial entities with cognitive abilities that mirror those of humans, capable of engaging in intellectual tasks spanning diverse fields.
For now, strong AI remains purely speculative, with no practical examples in real life. However, that hasn’t stopped AI researchers from pushing the boundaries of AI’s potential development. Research in is exploring how AI could evolve beyond its specialized functions into autonomous systems capable of independent reasoning.
In theory, AGI could take on any human job, whether it’s cleaning, coding or scientific research. While we’re not there yet, the potential impact of AGI spans multiple industries, including:
While researchers and developers continue to push the limits of AGI, achieving true general intelligence, on a par with human cognition, remains a formidable challenge and a distant goal. That said, with rapid advancements in AI technology and machine learning, the real question is no longer if AGI will emerge, but when.
Artificial intelligence spans a wide range of capabilities, each designed for specific functions and objectives. Understanding the four types of AI provides insight into the ever-evolving landscape of machine intelligence.
These four types of AI highlight the vast spectrum of intelligence within artificial systems. As AI technology advances, exploring the capabilities and limitations of each type will deepen our understanding of machine intelligence and its impact on society.
Central to these advancements are machine learning and deep learning, two subfields of AI that drive many of today’s innovations. While closely related, each has its own distinct approach to learning and problem solving.
relies on different learning methods to train AI systems. The three primary types are:
A subset of machine learning, focuses on training artificial neural networks with multiple layers, inspired by the human brain’s structure and function. These networks consist of that process and transmit signals, enabling AI to learn complex patterns.
Unlike traditional machine learning models, deep learning algorithms automatically extract features from raw data, refining their understanding through layers of abstraction. This makes them in image and speech recognition, natural language processing and other advanced AI applications. Yet their high complexity comes at a cost – deep learning requires massive datasets, extensive training and significant computational power to achieve optimal performance.
While many people associate AI with smart assistants like Siri and Alexa, new AI technology is emerging fast, making daily tasks more efficient and transforming industries in unexpected ways. Here are some key applications:
The rise of large-scale language models like Chat GPT is just the beginning. Welcome to the era of – a groundbreaking frontier in artificial intelligence that goes beyond analysing data to creating entirely new content. Unlike traditional AI systems, which excel at classification and prediction, generative models push boundaries by . They generate text, images, music, and even entire virtual worlds, blurring the line between machine output and human innovation.
But generative AI isn’t flawless. While its capabilities are revolutionary, challenges remain. Deepfakes, misinformation, biases, copyright issues and job displacement are all real concerns. These generative models also demand immense computational power, driving up costs and environmental impact while posing security and quality control risks.
Despite these hurdles, examples of artificial intelligence in this space continue to expand, proving its . Researchers are actively tackling these challenges through improved detection systems, refined training data, enhanced security measures and optimized computational efficiency. A balanced approach, supported by guidelines and stronger regulation, will also be key to ensuring generative AI serves as a force for progress, not disruption.
As AI becomes deeply embedded in industries worldwide, ensuring the quality and reliability of AI software is more critical than ever. Yet, despite its rapid growth, AI still operates in a largely unregulated space, posing risks that demand urgent attention.
This is where International Standards come in. Standards, such as those developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 on artificial intelligence, play a pivotal role in addressing the . They provide decision makers and policymakers with a structured framework to create consistent, auditable and transparent AI systems, closing regulatory gaps.
For businesses, aligning with these standards isn’t just about compliance – it’s a strategic advantage. From risk management to responsible AI governance, standardized AI practices enhance credibility, build trust with stakeholders, and ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh the risks.
AI has progressed in leaps and bounds, transforming many aspects of our world. But to truly appreciate its current capabilities, it’s important to . So who created AI? To find out, let’s take a journey through the fascinating history of artificial intelligence.
Today’s AI loosely stems from the 19th-century invention of Charles Babbage’s “difference engine” – the . British code-breaker Alan Turing, who was a key figure in the Allies’ intelligence arsenal during WWII, amongst other feats, can also be seen as a father figure of today’s iterations of AI. In 1950, he proposed the Turing Test, designed to assess a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from that of a human.
From that point onward, advancements in AI technology began to accelerate exponentially, spearheaded by such influential figures as John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Herbert Simon, Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Yann LeCun, and many others. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. While AI flourished in the early years, with , it soon hit a roadblock: computers simply couldn’t store enough information or process it fast enough. It wasn’t until the 1980s that AI experienced a renaissance, sparked by an expansion of the algorithm toolkit and an increase in funding.
To cut a long story short, here are some key events and milestones in the history of artificial intelligence:
- : Developed by a Google subsidiary, the computer program AlphaGo captures the world’s attention when it defeats legendary Go player Lee Sedol. The ancient board game “Go” is one of the most complex ever created.
- 2017 to date: Rapid advancements in computer vision, natural language processing, robotics and autonomous systems are driven by progress in deep learning and increased computational power.
- 2023: The rise of large language models, such as GPT-3 and its successors, demonstrates the potential of AI systems to generate human-like text, answer questions and assist with a wide range of tasks.
- 2024: New breakthroughs in multimodal AI allow systems to process and integrate various types of data (text, images, audio and video) for more comprehensive and intelligent solutions. AI-powered digital assistants are now capable of engaging in natural, contextual conversations as well as assisting with a wide variety of tasks.
The exponential growth of computing power and the Internet has propelled machine learning from concept to reality. Today, AI algorithms don’t just follow instructions, they learn from vast datasets, improving with each iteration. At its most advanced, this has led to deep learning, where computers refine their “intelligence” through experience, much like the human brain.
And the impact? AI is everywhere – powering how we work, communicate and engage with technology. From medical breakthroughs to climate solutions, its impact will be profound and far-reaching. But with innovation comes responsibility. As AI becomes more powerful and pervasive, we must ensure it is developed and used responsibly. For this to be achieved, it is crucial to stay informed and be proactive in shaping its development – to build a future that is both beneficial and empowering for all.