3 min read
What is AI (and what is it not)?
In plain language: what AI is, what it is good at, what not, and how to start.
In one sentence
AI is software that learned from very many examples to do tasks that used to be human work: writing, summarising, translating, making images or transcribing conversations.
How does an AI chatbot work?
Behind a chatbot is a language model. It has read enormous amounts of text and keeps predicting the most fitting next word. That is why its answers sound human.
But a language model does not ‘know’ things the way we do. It can make mistakes with great confidence. That is called a hallucination.
What is AI good at?
- A first draft of a text, e-mail or presentation
- Summarising long texts and explaining difficult things
- Brainstorming and thinking along
- Translating and rewriting
- Making images, voices, music and video
- Automating boring, repetitive chores
What is AI less good at?
- Current facts without a source: check them
- Precise calculations: double-check important numbers
- Decisions with big consequences, such as medical, legal or financial ones
- Anything with confidential or personal data: think about privacy first
How to start
Pick one task you do often, try a free AI assistant and check the result. Not sure where to start? Use our step-by-step finder: click what you want to do and get advice.