A deeper look at what artificial intelligence actually is

What, specifically, defines artificial intelligence? Is AI simply a fancy name for the robots you see in movies like Terminator and Wall-E? What makes a machine artificially intelligent, as opposed to just being useful? There is debate that something must be self-learning or autonomous to be considered AI. Ian Bogost dove deeply into the debate in a recent article for The Atlantic, "'Artificial intelligence' has become meaningless." Bogost cuts to the chase when it comes to what qualifies as AI: "Machines warrant the name AI when they become sentient--or at least self-aware enough to act with expertise, not to mention volition and surprise.