Artificial Intelligence. These two words have been floating around everywhere practically all the time. From news headlines to everyday conversations, you can’t seem to escape it. But have you ever paused and thought, “What actually is AI”? If that’s the case, you’re definitely not alone. So, for all the beginners and enthusiasts out there, let’s start understanding the basics.
A very brief history of Artificial Intelligence
AI might seem like a futuristic concept, but the idea has been around for a long time. Here’s a quick timeline of how AI has evolved over the years:
- In 1950, Alan Turing, a British mathematician, proposed the Turing Test as a way to determine if a machine could think like a human.
- In 1956, the term “Artificial Intelligence” was officially coined at the Dartford Conference.
- In the 1960s, the MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum built ELIZA, an early chatbot which mimicked human conversation.
- The AI winter began in the 1970s which halted the progress of AI due to fund cuts.
- In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov, proving AI could outthink humans in certain areas.
- The 2010s is when things started getting crazy. In 2011, Apple introduced the first widely used and famous AI assistant called Siri.
- In 2014, Amazon released Alexa.
- In 2016, Google’s AlphaGo defeated Lee Sedol (world champion) in Go, a game more complex than chess.
Today, we have so many AI tools at our disposal and it’s advancing faster than ever, making massive waves in all industries. So, we need to know what AI actually is.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
At its core, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is the ability of machines to think and learn like humans. For example, they can perform tasks that would usually require human intelligence. This can include things like understanding language, recognizing images, making decisions, and learning from data. The important point to remember is that AI is trained to recognize patterns and respond intelligently.
How does AI work?
AI works by learning from data and using that knowledge to make smart decisions. For example, you will feed it information, it notices patterns and then learns what it needs to do next time. Over time, it will become better at its task through learning from more data.
Here are 3 terms you should be aware of as part of your AI journey:
- Machine learning is when AI learns from past data.
- Deep learning is when it learns using advanced neural networks.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) is when AI understands and responds in human language.
Let’s look at the types of AI next.
Types of AI you’ll hear about
There are three main types of AI:
- Narrow AI (a.k.a. weak AI) is a type of AI which specializes in one thing or is designed for specific tasks like writing emails or generating images. Think of ChatGPT, Siri, Alexa, or Google Translate.
- General AI (a.k.a. strong AI) refers toAI that can think, learn, and solve problems like a human. We don’t seem to be there yet… allegedly.
- Super AI or Artificial Superintelligence is AI that surpasses human intelligence. When people refer to the singularity, this is usually what they’re referring to. It’s the stuff of science fiction… for now.
What about Generative AI? Generative AI falls under Narrow AI and focuses on creating new content like stories, images, music, and even videos.
For now, most of the AI we interact with can be considered narrow AI which is powerful but not human-like (yet).
Why should you care about AI if you’re in cybersecurity?
AI is impacting the field of cybersecurity a lot more than you might think:
- Both cyber defenders and attackers can use AI tools to perform their tasks.
- Threat detection tools use AI to find and stop attacks faster than us humans.
- Hackers are using AI to create more realistic phishing emails, deepfakes, and automated attacks.
If you aren’t using AI, then you might be left behind. AI can be an opportunity in cybersecurity.
What you can do with AI right now
You might not realize it, but AI is already part of your daily routine like smart assistants (Siri or Alexa), online shopping where you get a suggestion based on your browsing history, and social media where you’re recommended videos based on your viewing behaviour.
Of course, you can use AI too. Here are a few examples of what you can use AI for already:
- Generate images and videos.
- Write content like emails, poetry, and stories.
- Brainstorm ideas such as lesson plans, training options, and video scripts.
- Summarize long articles.
- Automation of boring tasks.
- Creating basic cybersecurity tools.
Simple tools you can try today
Perhaps you want to get started playing around with some AI tools? Here are a few well-known tools that you can start using for free:
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT for writing, asking general questions, and help with coding.
- Anthropic’s Claude which is great for content like stories, books, and general questions.
- Google Gemini for writing, summaries, image generation and learning.
Just remember that AI can make mistakes so use it responsibly and have fun 😊
Is Artificial Intelligence dangerous?
You have probably heard stories about AI taking over the world and there are many movies based on this scenario. While AI is powerful, it’s not about to turn into a sci-fi super villain anytime soon. However, there are real concerns, like job automation, AI bias, and privacy issues. These are all valid concerns so let’s consider automation for a moment.
We can see in the news, and possibly also in our personal lives, that companies are introducing AI automation. This has the potential to replace many jobs and thereby reduce overall employment. Chatbots are being used frequently especially from a customer service perspective. However, it can also be used to free up employees’ time by removing the routine and boring tasks which gives them time to focus on more important projects.
AI is evolving so fast, and the possibilities are endless. For now, we’ll have to wait and see how it all unfolds in the near future.
This is just the beginning
Artificial Intelligence is here and it’s part of our lives right now. It’s changing the world with each passing day, and we need to be part of that change. The best part is that you don’t need to be a tech expert to understand and use AI – you just need to understand the basics. So, let’s start our new, fun and exciting AI journey together. Be secure!
