AI From A to Z: The AI Glossary for Tech Leaders

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the global business arena. Within this article, we’ve compiled a glossary of pertinent AI terminology to unravel the complexities often associated with this cutting-edge technology.

A

AI – Artificial Intelligence

It is a broad concept of machines performing tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as problem-solving, perception, or reasoning.

AI Ethics

A set of moral principles and practices intended to guide companies through the responsible use and development of artificial intelligence.

AGI – Artificial General Intelligence

A theoretical type of AI with cognitive capabilities equal to those of a human, including the ability to self-teach.

ASI – Artificial Super Intelligence

A theoretical AI type with cognitive capabilities to exceedhuman intelligence across all fields.

AR – Augmented Reality

It is the integration of digital information with the user’s environment in real time.

ASR – Automatic Speech Recognition

A powerful tool that can automatically transform spoken text into a written form. 

B

Bots

A software application programmed to perform repetitive, rule-based tasks, usually with the aim of imitating or replacing human activity.

BERT – Bidirectional Encoder Representations for Transformers

A deep learning model that leverages a transformer-based neural network to understand and generate human-like language. 

C

Chatbot

A software application designed to simulate human conversation through text or voice interactions. It utilizes natural language processing techniques to understand user input and provide relevant responses.

ChatGPT

A chatbot capable of having conversations with people and generating unique, human-like text responses.

Composite AI

The combined application of different AI techniques to create an enhanced system that’s more efficient, knowledgeable and capable of solving a specific problem.

Conversational AI

Used by developers to build conversational user interfaces, chatbots, and virtual assistants for a variety of use cases. They offer integration into chat interfaces such as messaging platforms, social media, SMS, and websites. A conversational AI platform has a developer API so third parties can extend the platform with their own customizations.

CNN – Convolutional Neural Network

A specialized type of neural network designed to process and analyze structured grid-like data, such as images or sequences. 

D

Data Augmentation

The process of increasing the amount and diversity of data.

Deep Learning

A subset of machine learning, where neural networks train a computer/system to perform human-like tasks.

Deepfake

Also known as ‘synthetic media’, Deepfake is a type of artificial intelligence that is used to create convincing images, audios and video hoaxes.

E

XAI – Explainable Artificial Intelligence

A set of processes and methods that allows human users to comprehend and trust the results and output created by machine learning algorithms.

ESG – Environmental, Social, and Governance

A set of standards and practices used to measure an organization’s environmental and social impact.

Explainable AI/Explainability

Refers to a set of processes that allows humans to understand, comprehend, and trust the results produced by ML algorithms.

F

Foundational model

They are large-scale neural networks trained on vast amounts of text data to understand and generate human-like language.

Feature engineering

The process of selecting, transforming, extracting, combining, and manipulating raw data to generate the desired variables for analysis.

G

Generative AI

It is a powerful new technology that can be used to create realistic images, text, and even music.

GPT – Generative Pre-trained Transformer

An AI model designed to process and generate human-like text.

H

Hybrid AI

A type of artificial intelligence that combines multiple AI technologies to create a more powerful and effective AI system.

I

Image Recognition

An application of computer vision in which machines identify and classify specific objects, people, text, and actions within digital images and videos.

IOT – Internet of Things

It refers to a network of physical objects that are connected to the Internet so that they can exchange data and information in order to improve productivity, efficiency, services, and more.

J

Jupyter Notebook

An interactive computational environment in which you can combine code execution, rich text, mathematics, plots, and rich media.

K

Keras

A powerful easy-to-use Python library for developing and evaluating deep learning models.

L

LLM – Large Language Model

A deep-learning algorithm that uses massive amounts of parameters and training data to understand and predict text.

M

ML – Machine Learning

A branch of artificial intelligence and computer science that focuses on using data and algorithms to enable AI to imitate the way how humans learn, gradually improving its accuracy.

N

NLP – Natural Language Processing

A machine learning technology that gives computers the ability to interpret, manipulate, and comprehend human language.

Neural Network

A model designed to mimic the function and structure of the human brain.

NLU – Natural Language Understanding

A branch of AI that uses computer software to understand input in the form of sentences using text or speech. 

O

Open-source AI 

Open-source AI is the application of open-source practices to the development of artificial intelligence resources.

P

Python

One of the top programming languages in the world, widely used in fields such as AI, machine learning, data science, and web development.

Predictive Analytics

Models designed to assess historical data, discover patterns, observe trends, in order to  predict future trends.

Q

Quantum computing

A multidisciplinary field comprising aspects of computer science, physics, and mathematics that utilizes quantum mechanics to solve complex problems faster than classical computers.

R

Responsible AI

An approach to developing and deploying AI from both an ethical and legal point of view.

Robotics

A branch of engineering and computer science that involves the conception, design, manufacture, and operation of robots.

RL – Reinforcement Learning

A machine learning technique that trains software to make decisions to achieve the most optimal results.

S

Supervised Learning

A category of machine learning that uses labeled datasets to train algorithms to predict outcomes and recognize patterns.

Symbolic Artificial Intelligence

A subfield of AI that focuses on the processing and manipulation of symbols or concepts, rather than numerical data.

SAO – Subject Action Object

A technique used to convert unstructured textual data into structured textual data comprising subjects, actions, and objects.

SKOS – Simple Knowledge Organization System

A construct of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a group that works on various standards for the web. It is designed to provide consistent designs for different types of knowledge collections, such as a dictionary or thesaurus, taxonomy, or classification scheme.

T

TensorFlow

A free and open-source software library for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

TPU – Tensor Processing Unit

A specialized hardware accelerator designed by Google specifically for accelerating machine learning tasks. 

U

Unstructured Data

It refers to data that doesn’t have a set structure – one that is unorganized.

Unsupervised Learning

A type of machine learning technique that uses artificial intelligence algorithms to identify patterns in data sets that are neither classified nor labeled.

V

VR – Virtual Reality

A computer-generated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel they are immersed in their surroundings. 

W

Workflow Automation

Refers to the use of software to complete some tasks and activities without the need for human input.

X

XAI (Explainable AI)

A subfield of AI focused on creating transparent models that provide clear and understandable explanations of their decisions.

Z – Zero-Shot Learning

 A machine learning scenario in which an AI model is trained to make predictions on unseen data. 

This generative AI glossary is your one-stop shop. It will get you going with the basics and beyond.

In brief

As AI continues to evolve, furthering the knowledge will be the key differentiator between those who truly harness its transformative power and those left still thinking about it. So, embrace the AI revolution by exploring its terms and possibilities.