Frequently asked questions

// When did AI develop?

The term artificial intelligence goes back more than 60 years, to the Dartmouth Conference in 1956. But it is only in the last decade that the industrial potential of AI has been recognised. The main reason is that there has never been more data available, more affordable computing power, or better open-sourced algorithms and technology.

// What is AI?

According to the European Commission: “AI refers to systemsthat display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking actions – with some degree of autonomy – to achieve specific goals. AI-based systems can be purely software-based, acting in the virtual world (e.g. voice assistants, image analysis software, search engines, speech and face recognition systems) or AI can be embedded in hardware devices (e.g. advanced robots, autonomous cars, drones or Internet of Things applications).”

// What does AI do?

This depends on the input used and the output desired. The data that is being used can vary greatly. Ranging from an image, to a sound clip or a credit card purchase. The output depends on the question asked. What exactly is said in the sound clip? Is the purchase fraudulent? How many elephants are in that image? Nonetheless, the current AI applications only work in clearly defined sep¬arate domains and are not capable of general human intelligence or common sense. A chess robot cannot engage in face recognition, an algorithm that detects credit card fraud cannot win a chess match. Yet, often, similar design rules can be used to build both systems.

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