A Beginner's Guide to Artificial Intelligence Uncubed

Confused about what artificial intelligence is? You're in good company. When Stanford University released its first report for the One Hundred Year Study, a long-term look into the future of artificial intelligence, the panel acknowledged: "there is no clear definition of AI (it isn't any one thing)." And while this ambiguity will make it hard to regulate, the authors contend, those same vagaries might also help the field grow. "The lack of a precise, universally accepted definition of AI," they wrote, "probably has helped the field to grow, blossom, and advance at an ever-accelerating pace." Of course, a definition would be helpful.