Artificial Intelligence has always occupied a part of our thinking

Artificial Intelligence

 Artificial Intelligence has always occupied a part of our thinking.

For centuries, humans have portrayed artificial intelligence in myths and fictional stories. From Talos, the giant bronze automaton (a self-operating machine) that protected the island of Crete in Greek mythology, to the intelligent spacecraft featured in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the idea of smart machines designed by humans has captivated our imagination.

Today, artificial intelligence technology is part of everyday life — analyzing data, making predictions, and enhancing productivity. More recently, it has even begun assisting in the creation of artwork through what is now known as generative AI.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence by machines. Although ancient myths and centuries of design efforts imagined machines acting like humans, the first real example of machine learning appeared in 1951, when a chess-playing program developed at the University of Manchester learned how to play well enough to defeat human players. This was the earliest form of AI in games.

Today, AI is embedded in many aspects of life — especially in our smartphones and apps — performing common tasks such as facial recognition, voice recognition, spam filtering, grammar suggestions, and translation.

The Three Types of Artificial Intelligence

There isn’t a single type of AI that can do everything. Just like we use different software for word processing, accounting, and digital design, there are different types of AI designed to achieve different goals. The types of AI you're likely to encounter generally fall into three basic categories:

1. Narrow AI (or Weak AI)

This type of AI is designed to perform specific tasks and cannot learn beyond them. Examples include image recognition, natural language processing tools, and image design assistants. Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa are all forms of narrow AI — they can understand and respond to voice commands, but they can't perform complex tasks like medical diagnoses.

2. Reactive Machines

As the name suggests, these machines can only respond to specific stimuli, such as a chess move on a virtual board. They do not build memories or recall past experiences like limited memory AI can, but they are still useful in the digital world. Examples include spam filters and recommendation systems that track your behavior to suggest what to watch or buy next.

3. Limited Memory AI

This is the next step in the evolution of AI beyond reactive machines. Limited memory AI can store knowledge, learn from it, and perform new tasks based on that learning. It is useful for making predictions — from financial trends to weather forecasts. This type of AI is the most commonly used today, appearing in chatbots and self-driving cars.