AI, machine learning and deep learning: What's the difference? - IBM IT Infrastructure Blog

It's not unusual today to see people talking about artificial intelligence (AI). When I was a kid in the 1980s, AI was depicted in Hollywood movies, but its real-world use was unimaginable given the state of technology at that time. While we don't have robots or androids that can think like a person or are likely to take over the world, AI is a reality now, and to understand what we mean when we talk about AI today we have to go through a -- quick, I promise -- introduction on some important terms. Simply put, AI is anything capable of mimicking human behavior. From the simplest application -- say, a talking doll or an automated telemarketing call -- to more robust algorithms like the deep neural networks in IBM Watson, they're all trying to mimic human behavior.