Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Put simply, artificial intelligence (AI) is the capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or simulate intelligent human behavior (OED). Generative AI adds some specificity to this concept, defined as artificial intelligence designed to produce original output, especially text or images, previously thought to require human intelligence, typically by using machine learning to extrapolate from large collections of data (OED). These terms--and many others--exist in an interrelated network of concepts related to machines' replication of intelligent behavior. LLMs like ChatGPT are trained on vast amounts of data, largely comprised of material found on the internet.

Wheatley, A & Hervieux, S. (2020). The AI family tree [diagram]. The LibrAIry. https://thelibrairy.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/the-ai-family-tree/

While there is an ever-increasing number of generative AI tools on the market, ChatGPT is perhaps the most recognizable in our current technological landscape. Watch this video from MIT Sloan's Rama Ramakrishnan for a basic understanding of how ChatGPT is structured, its evolution, its capabilities and limitations: