What is AI? - An Introduction to Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence is one of the most rapidly growing industries in our current society, and many new tools and platforms have been unveilved recently by large companies that are making impactful strides in this field. However, many are unaware of AI and why this field is so big right now. They feel that this is a really new and innovative concept that can seem hard to udnerstand, a field that seems valuable but difficult to grasp. If that sounds like you, you are in the right place. In this article, we will dive into the basics of machine learning and AI, what the difference is between those two terms, and how AI is currently impacting our society. By the end of this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of what machine learning is, the different types of machine learning, and how it is used in our society. You can thank me later. Machine Learning and AI - A Definition We will start by defining these prevalent terms first - machine learning and AI. The definition of artifical intelligence, as the name suggests, is how we use machines (artifical units) to imitate human brain function (intelligence). Here is a more detailed definition. Artifical Intelligence - Computer systems capable of performing tasks that only humans could do and thus imitate human intelligence Examples of these tasks include reasoning, making decision, and solving problems So we have our first definition. Now what is machine learning? As the name suggests, machine learning is using machines to learn things. In case you want the definition in more professional language: Machine Learning - A branch of artifical intelligence that focuses on utilizing algorithms and data analysis to enable AI systems to imitate human intelligence and how humans learn. An easy way to differentiate between these two terms: AI is the what, and machine learning is the how. We want machines to perform tasks that only humans could do, tasks that could not be replaced by simple 1s and 0s, and we do this through computer algorithms and training data, which is the process of machine learning.