Students from across the world occassionally ask/e-mail me with questionws about AI. This file contains an evolving set of replies. You can make of it whatever you will.

What is AI?

What do I know about AI?
That might be slightly difficult to answer briefly..

What is AI?
All things to all people....
...nothing to many!
It is a question of perspectives...
If i put my psychologit's hat on
The search for an adequate definition of intelligence.

If i put on my Computer Science hat on
The development of intelligent computer systems (whatever that means!)

If i put my Medical School hat on
The study and development of ill defined systems that barely approximate to the knowledge some people possess!
(sorry that is a joke!)

If i put my philosopher's hat on...
would a computer take the socratian stance?

So what is AI?
It is difficult to say without leaving soneone out and producing a too tight definition...
May be it is about thinking? or knowledge or epistemology or metaphysics?
Or a ploy to define these...
May be it is simply an outgrowth of man's curiousity about himself and the universe he inhabits...

Where does AI stop and Cognitive Science start?
Where does computational psychology start and AI begin?
If you defined an artificially intelligent system as one that beats the the Earth's leading chess player as intelligent, IBM have produced one

If you define an artificially intelligent system as one that classifies information nad data incomprehensible in its volume and complexity to human beings then NASA have some...

If you define one as one that solves all earth's problems then no-one has produced one...

AI is the study of these type of questions (and many more...this is first thing monday morning!) at many levels of analysis .

If you want some other answers : there are many : Use the following web page pointer.

Shalom