Artificial intelligence (AI) is the area of computer science and engineering focused on the creation of intelligent agents, which are systems that can reason, learn, and act autonomously. AI research deals with the question of how to create computers that are capable of intelligent behaviour.
In practical terms, AI applications can be deployed in a number of ways, including:
1. Machine learning: This is a method of teaching computers to learn from data, without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning algorithms have been used in a variety of tasks, such as identifying objects in images or videos, translating languages, and identifying fraud or anomalies in financial data.
2. Natural language processing: This involves teaching computers to understand human language and respond in a way that is natural for humans. NLP applications can be used for tasks such as automatic summarization of text documents, machine translation, and dialog systems (such as chatbots).
3. Robotics: Robots are physical agents that can interact with their environment. AI techniques are used to design robots that can autonomously navigate and manipulate objects. Robotics applications include domestic assistants (such as vacuum cleaners), industrial robots (used for manufacturing), and medical robots (used for surgery).
4. Predictive analytics: This is a method of using artificial intelligence to make predictions about future events based on past data patterns. Predictive analytics is used in a variety of domains such as marketing (for targeted advertising), finance (for fraud detection), and medicine (for diagnosis and treatment planning).