I usually see artificial intelligence explained in one of two ways: through the increasingly sensationalist perspective of the media or through dense scientific literature riddled with superfluous language and field-specific terms. There's a less publicized area between these extremes where I think literature needs to step up a bit. News about "breakthroughs" like that stupid robot Sophia hype up A.I. to be something akin to human consciousness while in reality, Sophia is about as sophisticated as AOL Instant Messenger's SmarterChild. Scientific literature can be even worse, causing even the most driven researcher's eyes to glaze over after a few paragraphs of gratuitous pseudo-intellectual trash. In order to accurately assess A.I., the general population needs to know what it really is.