artificial intelligence

American  

[ahr-tuh-fish-uhl in-tel-i-juhns] / ˌɑr təˈfɪʃ əl ɪnˈtɛl ɪ dʒəns /

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.

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artificial intelligence British  

noun

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

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artificial intelligence Scientific  

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.

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artificial intelligence Cultural  

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of artificial intelligence

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Today, commercial nuclear power is being re-examined, driven in part by the energy demands of artificial intelligence and the push for climate-neutral power.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Li plans to sue the drama makers and the platform, highlighting new legal and regulatory grey areas created by artificial intelligence.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

My colleague Philip van Doorn recently wrote that, despite this surge, it’s still a good time to invest in tech stocks, many of which have benefited from the rise of artificial intelligence.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

X-Energy’s fortunes improved as companies began searching for new sources of energy amid the growth of artificial intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

I have remained heavily involved in computing science, investigating and maintaining complex networks and studying everything from memes to artificial intelligence.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Related Words

• robotics