Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of computers and machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include learning from experience, recognizing patterns, solving problems, and even making decisions. AI is all around us—powering virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, recommending movies on Netflix, and even helping doctors diagnose diseases.

• 1950s – The Birth of AI: Scientists like Alan Turing began exploring whether machines could think. Turing created the Turing Test, a way to measure a machine’s ability to imitate human conversation.
• 1956 – The Term "Artificial Intelligence" is Born: The field of AI was officially named at a conference at Dartmouth College, where researchers discussed creating machines that could mimic human intelligence.
• 1960s-1970s – Early AI Programs: AI was used to solve math problems and play chess, but computers were limited by technology at the time.
• 1980s-1990s – Machine Learning Advances: Scientists developed ways for AI to learn from data, leading to improvements in speech recognition and robotics.
• 2000s-Present – AI in Everyday Life: AI now powers search engines, social media algorithms, self-driving cars, and even art and music creation.

Image credit: Researchgate (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Timeline-diagram-showing-the-history-of-artificial-intelligence_fig1_364826401)

AI can be divided into different categories based on its abilities:

1. Narrow AI (Weak AI)

• The most common form of AI today.
• Designed to perform a single task, such as recommending songs, translating languages, or recognizing faces in photos.
• Examples: Google Search, Siri, and self-checkout machines.

2. General AI (Strong AI)

• Hypothetical AI that could perform any intellectual task a human can do.
• Would be able to reason, learn, and apply knowledge to different situations.
• Currently, General AI does not exist.

3. Super AI

• A theoretical AI that surpasses human intelligence.
• Often seen in science fiction as robots that outthink and outsmart humans.
• Example: AI from movies like The Terminator or Her.