Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence — such as recognising speech, making decisions, translating languages, and identifying objects in images. Automation is the use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
AI is a broad field. At GCSE level, you need to understand the key concepts:
Narrow AI (Weak AI)
AI designed to perform a specific task very well
This is the type of AI that exists today
Examples: voice assistants (Siri, Alexa), facial recognition, spam filters, recommendation systems (Netflix, Spotify), self-driving car systems, chess engines
General AI (Strong AI)
AI that could perform any intellectual task that a human can
This does not yet exist — it is a theoretical concept
Often depicted in science fiction (e.g., HAL 9000, Terminator)
Machine Learning
A subset of AI where computers learn from data rather than being explicitly programmed
The system analyses large datasets, identifies patterns, and makes predictions
Examples: spam detection (learns from millions of emails), image recognition (learns from millions of labelled photos)
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