Neural networks: Artificial intelligence and our future

James Crowder is the chief engineer at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. Imagine yourself a passenger in a futuristic self-driving car. Instead of programming its navigation system, the car interacts with you in a near-human way to understand your desired destination. The car has learned your preferences for music, temperature and lighting; these are adjusted without the need to twist a knob. Two distinct paths of technological evolution are advancing technology to create this future (and more): virtual intelligence (VI) is planned, controlled and predictable; in sharp contrast, artificial intelligence (AI) is none of these.