AI Glossary: Definitions & Descriptions

The rapid emergence of generative AI has given us a whole new language to learn. We’ve compiled some frequently used AI terms, abbreviations and phrases to know. We’ll keep this list updated, so check back often to stay fresh.

Artificial Intelligence
The simulation of human intelligence processes by machines. Overall capability 
of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior. Termed/Founded in 1956 by Alan Turing.

Machine Learning
The scientific study of algorithms and statistical models that computer systems use to perform a specific task without using explicit instructions, relying on patterns and inference instead.

Turing Test
A test proposed by Alan Turing in 1950 to evaluate whether a machine can exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human.

Natural Language Process
Processing, analyzing and interpreting natural human language and speech by using computational techniques.

Neural Networks
Computing systems modeled on the biological neural networks of animal brains, constructed of many simple processing units connected together in complex connections.

Supervised Learning
Algorithms that learn from labeled training data, providing examples of expected input-output pairs.

Deep Learning
A subset of machine learning based on artificial neural networks, with multiple layers that can learn increasingly abstract representations of data.

Large Language Models (LLMs)
AI systems trained on huge amounts of textual data to build a statistical model that can predict the next word in a sequence, generating cohesive and coherent natural language.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI)
AI systems that can create new, original content like text, images, video and audio from scratch rather than simply recognizing patterns.

Chatbot
Programs designed to simulate conversation with human users, using dialogue and natural language processing.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
The hypothetical ability of an intelligent agent to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can, at or beyond human capability.

Effective Accelerationalism (E/ACC Movement)
A 21st-century philosophical movement that advocates for an explicitly pro-technology stance. Its proponents believe that unrestricted technological progress (especially driven by AI) is a solution to universal human problems like poverty, war and climate change. They see themselves as a counterweight to more cautious views.

Prompt
A string of information, text, image, code or otherwise, input by a human into a large language model to generate an intended output.

Hallucination
A response generated by an AI model that contains false or misleading information that is presented as a fact.

OpenAI
U.S. based artificial intelligence research company responsible for ChatGPT, DALL·E and Sora.

Microsoft Copilot
An AI chatbot developed by Microsoft that incorporates into Microsoft tools such as Microsoft 365, Bing and Edge.

ChatGPT
A generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI. This tool kicked off the generative AI era being available to the public.

DALL·E
A text-to image model developed by OpenAI using deep learning methodologies to generate digital images from text prompts.

Midjourney
A generative AI program that generates images from prompts through the Discord application.

Google Gemini
Google’s family of multimodal large language models developed by Google DeepMind.

Claude
An AI chatbot built by Anthropic.

Sora
A generative AI model built by OpenAI that has the ability to create realistic and imaginative scenes from text prompts, up to one minute.