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.

---

artificial intelligence British  

noun

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

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

The stock has fallen 38% in 2026 on broad fears that artificial intelligence will disrupt software.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

The report offered a sign that artificial intelligence might not be the death sentence for software that it’s been feared by some to be.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026

Self-healing grids: During heat waves, artificial intelligence would reroute power for maximum efficiency, eking out extra performance to avoid blackouts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

The contract also adds more rules around the use of AI technology, including requiring that directors oversee any footage created by artificial intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

Which, of course, was exactly what he was—cutting-edge NPC artificial intelligence, programmed by Halliday himself.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• robotics