As the hype around AI has accelerated, vendors have been scrambling to promote how
their products and services use AI. Often what they refer to as AI is simply one component of AI,
such as machine learning. AI requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing
and training machine learning algorithms. No one programming language is synonymous with AI, but a
few, including Python, R and Java, are popular.
Four types of artificial intelligence
Type 1: Reactive machines. These AI systems have no memory and are task specific. An example
is Deep
Blue, the IBM chess program that beat Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. Deep Blue can identify pieces on
the chessboard and make predictions, but because it has no memory, it cannot use past experiences to
inform future ones.Type 2: Limited memory. These AI systems have memory, so they can use past
experiences
to inform
future decisions. Some of the decision-making functions in self-driving cars are designed this way.
Type 3: Theory of mind. Theory of mind is a psychology term. When applied to AI,
it
means that the
system would have the social intelligence to understand emotions. This type of AI will be able to
infer human intentions and predict behavior, a necessary skill for AI systems to become integral
members of human teams.Type 4: Self-awareness. In this category, AI systems have a sense of self, which
gives
them
consciousness. Machines with self-awareness understand their own current state. This type of AI does
not yet exist.
Cognitive computing and AI
The terms AI and cognitive computing are sometimes used interchangeably, but, generally
speaking, the label AI is used in reference to machines that replace human intelligence by
simulating how we sense, learn, process and react to information in the environment.The label cognitive computing is used in reference to products and services that mimic
and augment human thought processes
