artificial intelligence

Introduction & Top Questions
What is intelligence?
- Learning
- Reasoning
- Problem solving
- Perception
- Language
Methods and goals in AI
- Symbolic vs. connectionist approaches
- Artificial general intelligence (AGI), applied AI, and cognitive simulation
AI technology
- Machine learning
- Large language models and natural language processing (NLP)
- Autonomous vehicles
- Virtual assistants
- Risks
Is artificial general intelligence (AGI) possible?
Want to learn more?

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Three-dimensional grayscale facial scan with digital markers highlighting key facial features, shown on a computer screen as part of a facial recognition demonstration.

World chess champion Garry Kasparov competes against IBM's Deep Blue chess computer during their 1997 rematch in New York.

TikTok account featuring a deepfake of Keanu Reeves

Aerial view of the Google data center complex in Eemshaven, The Netherlands, showing several large white-roofed buildings surrounded by fields, canals, and wind turbines.

three stages of mobile robot development for the Mars Rover Research Project

At a Glance

artificial intelligence summary

Quizzes

computer chip. computer. Hand holding computer chip. Central processing unit (CPU). history and society, science and technology, microchip, microprocessor motherboard computer Circuit Board

Computers and Technology Quiz

Related Questions

How can artificial intelligence affect jobs in fields such as marketing and health care?
How can artificial intelligence assist doctors with diagnosis and robotic surgery?
How can artificial intelligence be used to create misleading images or fake online profiles?
How can artificial intelligence help reduce energy use and environmental waste?
How can biased training data lead to unfair artificial intelligence decisions?
How can employers use artificial intelligence to support workers through retraining and upskilling?
How can human oversight make artificial intelligence systems more accountable?
How did Alan Turing’s work help begin the modern field of artificial intelligence?
How did Arthur Samuel improve his checkers program so that it could learn from experience?
How did DeepMind use deep reinforcement learning to play Atari games without being taught the rules?
How did John McCarthy contribute to the development of artificial intelligence?
How did the General Problem Solver approach puzzles?
How do digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa use artificial intelligence?
How do machine-learning systems identify patterns and make decisions from data?
How does AlphaFold help scientists study protein structures?
How does agentic artificial intelligence differ from generative artificial intelligence?
How does generative artificial intelligence create text, images, and music from prompts?
How does machine learning help autonomous vehicles navigate complex environments?
How does the Turing test try to evaluate whether a computer can think?
How is artificial intelligence used in search engines and online shopping recommendations?
How is machine learning related to artificial intelligence?
What is rote learning in the Shopper computer program?
What limitation did the General Problem Solver have because it could not learn?
What privacy risks can facial-recognition systems create when they are used for surveillance?
What role did Alan Turing play in codebreaking during World War II?
What steps can artificial intelligence designers take to reduce bias in their systems?
What was the Logic Theorist designed to prove?
When was the AI Project founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?
Who founded the AI Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?
Why can artificial intelligence-generated content not receive copyright protection under existing U.S. policy?
Why can it be difficult to decide who is accountable for an artificial intelligence mistake?
Why can predictive policing algorithms reinforce over-policing in Black communities?
Why did early artificial intelligence programs struggle with language tasks?
Why do training and operating large artificial intelligence models use so much energy?
Why has the value of the Turing test been debated?
Why is artificial general intelligence still considered theoretical?
Why is regulating artificial intelligence difficult when the technology changes rapidly?
Why might new jobs created by artificial intelligence require different skills from jobs replaced by automation?
Why was one proof produced by the Logic Theorist especially notable?
What is artificial intelligence?
How can AI help my small business?
What are the risks of using AI in my small business?
Will AI replace employees in my small business?
What is a deepfake?
How are deepfakes created?
What is human intelligence?
Can human intelligence be measured?
Where was science fiction invented?
Where does science fiction get its name?

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External Websites

Harvard University - Science in the News - The History of Artificial Intelligence
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Who Cares for Space Debris? Conflicting Logics of Security and Sustainability in Space Situational Awareness Practices
Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research - A Study on the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The rise of artificial intelligence in healthcare applications
Lifewire - What is artificial intelligence?
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - A review of the application of artificial intelligence to nuclear reactors: Where we are and what's next
Computer History Museum - AI and Robotics
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Artificial Intelligence

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

artificial intelligence - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
artificial intelligence (AI) - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

artificial intelligence

technology

Also known as: AI

Written by

B.J. Copeland

Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Author of Artificial Intelligence and others.

B.J. Copeland

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

artificial intelligence (AI), the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with the intellectual processes characteristic of humans, such as the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize, or learn from past experience. Since their development in the 1940s, digital computers have been programmed to carry out very complex tasks—such as discovering proofs for mathematical...

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