artificial intelligence

[ahr-tuh-fish-uhl in-tel-i-juhns]

noun

Computers, Digital Technology.

1. 1. the capacity of a computer, robot, programmed device, or software application to perform operations and tasks analogous to learning and decision making in humans, such as speech recognition or question answering. AI, A.I.

   2. a computer, robot, programmed device, or software application having this humanlike capacity: AI, A.I.

      teaching human values to artificial intelligences.

2. the branch of computer science involved with the design of computers, robots, programmed devices, and software applications having the capacity to imitate human intelligence and thought. AI, A.I.

artificial intelligence

noun

1. AI. the study of the modelling of human mental functions by computer programs

artificial intelligence

1. The ability of a computer or other machine to perform actions thought to require intelligence. Among these actions are logical deduction and inference, creativity, the ability to make decisions based on past experience or insufficient or conflicting information, and the ability to understand spoken language.

artificial intelligence

1. The means of duplicating or imitating intelligence in computers, robots, or other devices, which allows them to solve problems, discriminate among objects, and respond to voice commands.

Word History and Origins

Origin of artificial intelligence¹

First recorded in 1955–60

A Closer Look

The goal of research on artificial intelligence is to understand the nature of thought and intelligent behavior and to design intelligent systems. A computer is not really intelligent; it just follows directions very quickly. At the same time, it is the speed and memory of modern computers that allows researchers to manage the huge quantities of data necessary to model human thought and behavior. An intelligent machine would be more flexible than a computer and would engage in the kind of “thinking” that people actually do. An example is vision. In theory, a network of sensors combined with systems for interpreting the data could produce the kind of pattern recognition that we take for granted as seeing and understanding what we see. In fact, developing software that can recognize subtle differences in objects (such as those we use to recognize human faces) is very difficult. The recognition of differences that we can perceive without deliberate effort would require massive amounts of data and elaborate guidelines to be recognized by an artificial intelligence system. According to the famous Turing Test, proposed in 1950 by British mathematician and logician Alan Turing, a machine would be considered intelligent if it could convince human observers that another human, rather than a machine, was answering their questions in conversation.

Example Sentences

Hand-wringing is most intense among those who have placed big bets on companies involved in artificial intelligence.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The plan floats working with Russia on—we are not making this up—artificial intelligence.

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Alphabet stock, meanwhile, has surged 58% in 2025, driven by strong earnings, excitement around artificial intelligence, and a federal antitrust ruling against Google that could have been much worse.

Read more on Barron's

The nation’s biggest economic engine—artificial intelligence—is linked to one of its biggest economic anxieties—rising electricity prices.

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At present, worries about the huge amounts being spent on artificial intelligence are high enough that another great Nvidia quarter wasn’t enough to buoy stocks or dispel bubble talk.

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Related Words

• robotics