What is artificial intelligence?

The term artificial intelligence (AI) has been defined in a number of ways over the past few decades, including this one from John McCarthy in a 2004 paper: "It is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs, to the equivalent task of using computers to understand human intelligence." AI uses biologically observable techniques, but this is not a must. The foundational article "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" by Alan Turing, published in 1950, however, indicated the emergence of the artificial intelligence discourse decades before this formulation. Turing, who is frequently referred to as the "Father of Computer Science," poses the question, "Can machines think?" in his article. From there, he introduces a test that is now renowned as the "Turing Test," in which a human interrogator tries to differentiate between a machine response and a human written response. Since its publication, this test has drawn considerable attention, and because it draws on linguistics-related concepts, it continues to be a significant chapter in the history of AI and a philosophical theory.

After that, Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig published Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, which went on to become one of the most influential works on the subject. In it, they explore four potential objectives or definitions of AI, differentiating between computer systems based on their reasoning and thinking vs acting:

1) Human approach:

- Systems with human-like thinking

- Systems that behave like people

 2) Ideal approach:

- Systems capable of rational thought

- Systems that function logically

Systems that behave like humans would fall under Alan Turing's notion of computers.

Artificial intelligence is a topic that, in its most basic form, combines computer science and substantial datasets to facilitate problem solving. Additionally, it includes the branches of artificial intelligence known as deep learning and machine learning, which are commonly addressed together. These fields use AI algorithms to build expert systems that make predictions or categorize information based on incoming data.