Artificial intelligence

What is artificial intelligence?

‘Artificial intelligence’ (AI) refers to systems that are designed to perform in human-like ways. They may, for example, mimic the human ability to perceive, analyse, learn, reason and deduce. The term AI encompasses such computing concepts as machine learning, speech and natural language processing, robotics and autonomous systems.

The term AI can be used to generically describe both the technologies used to create a ‘smart’ machine and the properties of a system with characteristics we would recognise as human, including the ability to recognise visual images, interpret speech, to learn by example and to make decisions based on a range of different information. Theoretically, any task currently performed by a human being is capable of automation through AI technology.

In its guide to using AI in the public sector, the government defined AI as:

‘the use of digital technology to create systems capable of performing tasks commonly thought to require intelligence.’

The guidance mostly discusses machine learning, a subset of AI referring to digital systems that improve their performance on a given task over time based on experience.

More recently, in the UK White Paper

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