AI Basics41

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, model, training, inference: the words that show up first in any AI topic. If AI news feels foreign, start with the beginner terms here. Every other category builds on this one.

Level
AGI

AI that could learn any new task, not just the one it was built for

Intermediate
Algorithm

A fixed sequence and set of rules for solving a problem

Beginner
Artificial Intelligence

Getting machines to make the judgment calls people used to make

Beginner
Automation vs AI

The difference between following a fixed rule and judging as you go

Beginner
Big Data

Data piled up so high it forces you to change tools

Beginner
Chatbot

A program you exchange text or speech with, back and forth

Beginner
Classification

Picking one of the bins that were already decided in advance

Beginner
Clustering

Grouping similar things together with no labels at all

Intermediate
Computer Vision

Technology that gets a computer to make sense of photos and video

Beginner
Data

The row-by-row record that becomes the raw material AI learns from

Beginner
Data Science

Turning scattered data into an answer worth acting on

Beginner
Dataset

A bundle of material gathered and organized to teach an AI

Beginner
Deep Learning

Machine learning that stacks processing steps many layers deep

Beginner
Embedding

Rewriting meaning as a set of numbers that marks a spot

LLM Intermediate
Feature

One ingredient an AI looks at when it makes a judgment

Beginner
Generalization

The ability to keep performing well on data never seen before

Intermediate
Generative AI

AI that invents a result that never existed before

Generative Beginner
GPU

A device that processes the same calculation many times at once

Intermediate
Inference

The moment a trained model produces an answer for a new input

Beginner
Label

The answer a person attaches to data ahead of time

Beginner
Large Language Model

A language model grown enormous by reading a huge pile of text

LLM Beginner
Layer

A computing stage made of neurons that all share the same input

Architecture Beginner
Machine Learning

Finding rules from examples instead of writing them by hand

Beginner
Model

A block of rules saved as-is, left over once training finishes

Beginner
Narrow AI

AI built to do exactly one job well

Beginner
Neural Network

Simple calculating units chained together in layers

Beginner
Neuron

A tiny computing unit that takes in many values and outputs one

Architecture Beginner
NLP

The technology that lets computers handle human language

Beginner
Parameter

A tuning dial inside a model whose value training decides

Architecture Beginner
Pattern Recognition

Spotting the regularity that keeps repeating

Beginner
Prediction

Using what you know to guess at a value you don't

Beginner
Recommendation System

A system that picks out what you'll like from your past records

Beginner
Regression

Naming a single number somewhere on a continuous scale

Intermediate
Reinforcement Learning

Learning by trying things and adjusting to the score you get back

Training Beginner
Speech Recognition

The technology that transcribes spoken words into text

Beginner
Supervised Learning

Learning a rule from examples that already carry the right answer

Training Beginner
Token

The bite-size pieces an AI cuts text into before reading it

LLM Beginner
Training

The process of nudging dials a little at a time from examples

Beginner
Turing Test

A test that guesses human or machine from conversation alone

Beginner
Unsupervised Learning

Finding structure in data with no answers attached

Training Beginner
Weight

The learned multiplier on each input, deciding how much it counts

Architecture Beginner