AI meaning - what is the best definition for artificial intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our daily lives, shaping the way we work, communicate, and interact with technology. Despite its ubiquitous presence, defining AI remains a complex task. In this article, we will explore the huge spectrum of different definitions of AI in a historical scope and will try to derive a best one from them.

1. Alan Turing (1950): Definition: "I propose to consider the question, 'Can machines think?'"

2. Norbert Wiener (1950): Definition: "We are not stuff that abides, but patterns that perpetuate themselves."

3. Claude Shannon (1950): Definition: "I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans, and I'm rooting for the machines."

4. John McCarthy (1956): Definition: "The study [of AI] is to proceed on the basis of the conjecture that every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it."

5. Arthur Samuel (1959): Definition: "The field of machine learning is concerned with the question of how to construct computer programs that automatically improve with experience."

6. Oliver Selfridge (1959): Definition: "Machine learning, the construction of algorithms that can learn from and make predictions or decisions based on data."

7. Marvin Minsky (1961): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men."

8. Herbert A. Simon (1965): Definition: "Machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work a man can do."

9. John McCarthy (1969): Definition: "Artificial intelligence involves giving the machine the ability to learn and adapt when exposed to new data."

10. Allen Newell (1973): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is the study of how to make computers do things at which, at the moment, people are better."

11. Joseph Weizenbaum (1976): Definition: "The field of artificial intelligence is constrained by the fact that it is traditionally oriented towards making machines emulate human intelligence."

12. Edward Feigenbaum (1977): Definition: "The field of artificial intelligence attempts to understand the nature of intelligence and produce systems that exhibit intelligent behavior."

13. Terry Winograd (1978): Definition: "AI is the study of how to make computers do things that people do better."

14. Patrick Winston (1979): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is the study of how to make computers do things that, at the moment, people do better."

15. David Marr (1982): Definition: "Artificial intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men."

16. Douglas Lenat (1982): Definition: "The ability to learn, reason, and comprehend from experience."

17. David Rumelhart (1985): Definition: "The essence of building a machine that can think and learn as a human is to embed it with a neural network capable of deep learning."

18. Alan Kay (1987): Definition: "AI is the science of building machines that can perform tasks that would require intelligence if done by humans."

19. Tom Mitchell (1988): Definition: "A computer program is said to learn from experience E concerning some class of tasks T and performance measure P if its performance at tasks in T, as measured by P, improves with experience E."

20. Hans Moravec (1988): Definition: "The primary goal of AI is to make machines perform tasks that would require intelligence if done by humans."

21. Rodney Brooks (1990): Definition: "The trick is to use each new thing as a lens through which to view and understand the older things."

22. Roger Schank (1991): Definition: "Artificial intelligence is the study of how to make computers do things that people do, but in particular, the kinds of things that make people seem intelligent."

23. Michael Jordan (1995): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is a set of algorithms and representations that can automatically infer, classify, and make decisions based on data."

24. Steven Pinker (1997): Definition: "AI is the art of creating machines that perform functions that require intelligence when done by humans."

25. Judea Pearl (1998): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by humans."

26.David Haussler (1999): Definition: "AI is the development of algorithms that allow computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, and decision-making."

27. Sebastian Thrun (2004): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent

28. Ray Kurzweil (2005): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilization a billion-fold."

29. Daphne Koller (2009): Definition: "AI is the creation of algorithms that can process information, learn from it, and use that learning to make decisions."

30. Andrew Ng (2010): Definition: "AI is the new electricity. Just as electricity transformed numerous industries roughly 100 years ago, AI will do the same."

31. Ray Kurzweil (2012): Definition: "Artificial intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilization a billion-fold."

32. Elon Musk (2014): Definition: "I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably that."

33. Andrew Ng (2016): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is the new electricity."

34. Jitendra Malik (2017): Definition: "AI involves creating algorithms that allow computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, and decision-making."

35. Fei-Fei Li (2018): Definition: "AI is not artificial—it's made by humans. It doesn't have to be perfect; it has to be better than us."

36. Gary Marcus (2018): Definition: "True artificial general intelligence is likely to be fundamentally different from the narrow AI we see today."

37. Yann LeCun (2019): Definition: "AI will go from dumb to brilliant, from barely understanding the environment to superintelligent in a matter of minutes."

38. Stuart Russell (2019): Definition: "The next phase [of AI] will be systems that can reason, learn, and understand the values of human beings."

39. Demis Hassabis (2020): Definition: "Artificial Intelligence is to make machines smart so they can do tasks that typically require human intelligence."

40. François Chollet (2021): Definition: "AI is whatever hasn't been done yet."

Given this, we can follow the evolution of a comprehension of what does AI really stands for. It started in early 50s, definitions of artificial intelligence span from questioning machines' thinking capabilities to envisioning a future where robots are akin to human companions. They emphasize the study's foundation in simulating learning and intelligence, constructing algorithms that improve with experience and make predictions based on data.

In 60s and 70s, exploring AI involves imbuing machines with human-like intelligence, enabling them to adapt and learn from new data, striving to bridge the gap between human and machine capabilities. The field aims to understand intelligence, create systems exhibiting intelligent behavior, and improve computer performance in tasks where humans currently excel.

Later, in 80s & 90s, AI seeks to make machines emulate human intelligence, employing algorithms and neural networks for automatic inference and decision-making. It involves creating systems that perform tasks requiring human intelligence, from learning and reasoning to visual perception and speech recognition.

After 2000, the direction is taken describing Artificial Intelligence, as the science and engineering of crafting intelligent systems, aims to create algorithms that process information, learn, and make decisions. The future vision includes AI reaching human-level intelligence by 2029, with the potential to exponentially multiply the intelligence of our civilization through continuous advancement.

Finaly, in the last decade, Artificial Intelligence, often likened to the transformative impact of electricity, is anticipated to reach human-level intelligence and exponentially evolve, posing both promise and caution. As various perspectives emerge, from the creation of smart machines to warnings about existential threats, the ongoing journey in AI is marked by the quest for brilliance, the evolution of general intelligence, and the continuous pursuit of novel achievements.

We can clearly see the growing interest for AI applications and also much larger interpretation from applciation field point of view.

So if we try to summarize our journey and deduce a very single one definition, let's propose to CHATGPT to do it for us, so:

• Artificial Intelligence is the interdisciplinary science and engineering of crafting intelligent systems, encompassing the study and application of algorithms and neural networks for simulating learning and intelligence, with the overarching goal of creating machines that emulate human cognitive capabilities and improve computer performance. The trajectory involves a continuous pursuit of advancements, envisioning AI reaching human-level intelligence and exponentially evolving, signifying both transformative potential and mindful considerations.*