Yes, once upon a time, it was a Steven Spielberg movie (and an underrated masterpiece on top of that). But today "AI" is a buzz phrase that pops up with more and more frequency in all kinds of social, political and especially technological contexts. AI stands, of course, for "artificial intelligence," also often referred to as "machine learning." Ask most folks to define AI, however, and it's much like asking people how a toilet works: You think you know, until you have to explain it to someone else. Artificial intelligence is a moving target, which makes it a challenge for even professionals in tech to fully understand it.