Artificial Intelligence: Machines, man and intelligence - Analytics Magazine

Discussions of artificial intelligence often veer in strange directions. On the one hand, you have the sort of doomsday scenarios that are staples of science fiction – a disobedient Hal 9000 goes on a killing spree, for instance. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, you have marketing departments adding "A.I." to the most pedestrian of electronic devices in an attempt to capitalize on media hype. Thank you, but my toaster does not need A.I. [1]. To better understand what A.I. is, and isn't, this first installment in the series will examine the technology's development from its most basic building blocks, starting with a reflection on the fundamental differences between machines, mankind and the notion of intelligence itself.