Key Terms
Here's a list of some key terms in the field of AI.
Artificial Intelligence
ALGORITHM
A set of rules that a machine can follow to learn how to do a task
AUTONOMOUS
A machine is described as autonomous if it can perform its task or tasks without needing human intervention
BIAS
Assumptions made by a model that simplify the process of learning to do its assigned task. Most supervised machine learning models perform better with low bias, as these assumptions can negatively affect results
BOUNDING BOX
Commonly used in image or video tagging, this is an imaginary box drawn on visual information. The contents of the box are labeled to help a model recognize it as a distinct type of object
COMPUTATIONAL LEARNING THEORY
A field within artificial intelligence that is primarily concerned with creating and analyzing machine learning algorithms
DATA MINING
The process of analyzing datasets in order to discover new patterns that might improve the model
DATA SET
A collection of related data points, usually with a uniform order and tags
ENTITY EXTRACTION
An umbrella term referring to the process of adding structure to data so that a machine can read it. Entity extraction may be done by humans or by a machine learning model
GENERAL AI
AI that could successfully do any intellectual task that can be done by any human being. This is sometimes referred to as strong AI, although they aren’t entirely equivalent terms
LAEBL
A part of training data that identifies the desired output for that particular piece of data
MACHINE LEARNING
This subset of AI is particularly focused on developing algorithms that will help machines to learn and change in response to new data, without the help of a human being
MODEL
A broad term referring to the product of AI training, created by running a machine learning algorithm on training data
NATURAL LANGUAGE GENERATION (NLG)
This refers to the process by which a machine turns structured data into text or speech that humans can understand. Essentially, NLG is concerned with what a machine writes or says as the end part of the communication process
NATURAL LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDING (NLU)
As a subset of natural language processing, natural language understanding deals with helping machines to recognize the intended meaning of language — taking into account its subtle nuances and any grammatical errors
PATTERN RECOGNITION
The distinction between pattern recognition and machine learning is often blurry, but this field is basically concerned with finding trends and patterns in data
PYTHON
A popular programming language used for general programming
STRONG AI
This field of research is focused on developing AI that is equal to the human mind when it comes to ability. General AI is a similar term often used interchangeably
TEST DATA
The unlabeled data used to check that a machine learning model is able to perform its assigned task
TRANSFER LEARNING
This method of learning involves spending time teaching a machine to do a related task, then allowing it to return to its original work with improved accuracy. One potential example of this is taking a model that analyzes sentiment in product reviews and asking it to analyze tweets for a week
UNSUPERVISED LEARNING
This is a form of training where the algorithm is asked to make inferences from datasets that don’t contain labels. These inferences are what help it to learn
VARIANCE
The amount that the intended function of a machine learning model changes while it’s being trained. Despite being flexible, models with high variance are prone to overfitting and low predictive accuracy because they are reliant on their training data
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
This refers to the general concept of machines acting in a way that simulates or mimics human intelligence. AI can have a variety of features, such as human-like communication or decision making
BACKWARD CHAINING
A method where the model starts with the desired output and works in reverse to find data that might support it
BIG DATA
Datasets that are too large or complex to be used by traditional data processing applications
CHATBOT
A chatbot is program that is designed to communicate with people through text or voice commands in a way that mimics human-to-human conversation
CORPUS
A large dataset of written or spoken material that can be used to train a machine to perform linguistic tasks
DATA SCIENCE
Drawing from statistics, computer science and information science, this interdisciplinary field aims to use a variety of scientific methods, processes and systems to solve problems involving data
DEEP LEARNING
A function of artificial intelligence that imitates the human brain by learning from the way data is structured, rather than from an algorithm that’s programmed to do one specific thing
FORWARD CHAINING
A method in which a machine must work from a problem to find a potential solution. By analyzing a range of hypotheses, the AI must determine those that are relevant to the problem
INTENT
Commonly used in training data for chatbots and other natural language processing tasks, this is a type of label that defines the purpose or goal of what is said. For example, the intent for the phrase “turn the volume down” could be “decrease volume”
MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
An umbrella term for various types of learning algorithms, including machine learning and deep learning
MACHINE TRANSLATION
The translation of text by an algorithm, independent of any human involvement
NEURAL NETWORK
Also called a neural net, a neural network is a computer system designed to function like the human brain. Although researchers are still working on creating a machine model of the human brain, existing neural networks can perform many tasks involving speech, vision and board game strategy
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING (NLP)
The umbrella term for any machine’s ability to perform conversational tasks, such as recognizing what is said to it, understanding the intended meaning and responding intelligibly
OVERFITTING
An important AI term, overfitting is a symptom of machine learning training in which an algorithm is only able to work on or identify specific examples present in the training data. A working model should be able to use the general trends behind the data to work on new examples
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS
By combining data mining and machine learning, this type of analytics is built to forecast what will happen within a given timeframe based on historical data and trends
REINFORCEMENT LEARNING
A method of teaching AI that sets a goal without specific metrics, encouraging the model to test different scenarios rather than find a single answer. Based on human feedback, the model can then manipulate the next scenario to get better results
SUPERVISED LEARNING
This is a type of machine learning where structured datasets, with inputs and labels, are used to train and develop an algorithm
TRAINING DATA
This refers to all of the data used during the process of training a machine learning algorithm, as well as the specific dataset used for training rather than testing
TURING TEST
Named after Alan Turing, famed mathematician, computer scientist and logician, this tests a machine’s ability to pass for a human, particularly in the fields of language and behavior. After being graded by a human, the machine passes if its output is indistinguishable from that of human participant's
VALIDATION DATA
Structured like training data with an input and labels, this data is used to test a recently trained model against new data and to analyze performance, with a particular focus on checking for overfitting
WEAK AI
Also called narrow AI, this is a model that has a set range of skills and focuses on one particular set of tasks. Most AI currently in use is weak AI, unable to learn or perform tasks outside of its specialist skill
Source: TELUS International
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