What Is AI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to technology that can make

computers learn and have human-like intelligence.

A machine can be programmed

to perform human-like tasks,
based on the information it takes
from its surroundings and from
previous experience. AI is able to
process language, learn and
problem-solve.
The History of
AI artificial intelligence can be traced back as far as the
Although
ancient times, the modern world of AI that we know today started
to develop in the mid 20th century.

Alan Turing was a British mathematician,

logician and computer scientist who laid
the foundations
The Turing of modern
machinecomputers
is a conceptand
made significant
that was contributions
one of Turing's togreat
the field
of artificial intelligence
inventions. (AI).
It was In 1935,
meant hea
to be
had discussed the potential
mathematical of anot
concept, computer
a
machinephysical
having an unlimited
machine andamount
was of
memorytherefore
and developed
never the universal
built. Turing's idea
Turing machine.
was to have In one of his lectures
a computer that wasin
1947, Turing
able said, “Whatand
to decode weperform
want is a a set
machineof that can learn from
instructions. Theseexperience”.
ideas of
mixing mathematics and
computer science have
contributed towards the way
computers are built and used
Founding Fathers of AI
Many other scientists went on to develop Turing’s concepts
further and were known as the 'founding fathers of artificial
intelligence’.

Some significant moments in the initial development of AI can be

dated back to the 1950s.
In 1958, In John McCarthy
1959, createddescribed
Arthur Samuel a programming
the idea of
language
teaching
In 1952, computercomputers to automatically
scientist Arthur learn
Samuel created
a thatandisimprove
known as Lisp. Lispexperience,
from has been influential in
without being
the program
explicitly programmed
where a to do so. could play
computer The computer
game of
development
learns from data
checkers. of artificial
and becomesintelligence.
better at Many
makingearly AI
predictions or decisions as it receives more data.
systemsThiswere
idea written
is knownin as
Lisp and it still
machine learning.
continues to In 1955, scientist John McCarthy
be used today in AI research.
created the
name artificial intelligence.
Programming
Languages
Artificial intelligence typically uses algorithms to follow rules
and determine how to respond to certain actions. These
algorithms are able to tell the machine how to perform a task or
solve a problem based on
step-by-step instructions.

AI uses many different

There programming
are many things thatlanguages.
AI can do.Some of the
languages that
Clickyou
themay have
skills experienced
below to find outor be familiar with
more.
are:

natural language processing (NLP)

Python

image recognition

JavaScript
speech recognition
Making
Predictions
AI works by processing large amounts of
data. It uses algorithms to identify
patterns and make predictions.

Have you ever watched a video online

AI can even scan a device's
and when finished, a new suggested
photo gallery and identify a
video appears for you to watch? This is tw
person's face through
AI predicting what you’d like to watch,
thousands of photos. It can two twinkl twin
based on the previous videos you have
then categorise this person
viewed.
by selecting all photos that
Howindividual
this about when typing?
appears in.Have you ever
typed into a device such as a
smartphone, laptop or tablet and seen it
predict the next word or try to complete
the sentence for you?
Making Decisions
Just like humans, AI can be trained to make decisions. AI is
Imagineoftraining
capable an AIdata
processing to sort
at apiles of rate
faster rubbish
thaninto mixed waste
humans.
and recycling. The AI has to sort all plastic bottles into the
recycling bin but anything else must go into the mixed waste.
Based on lots of pictures it has seen of bottles before (the data
it has been trained on), the robot can compare this to other
pictures, before making a decision on what to do. It will
recognise the bottles and then place them in the correct bin.
Click on the rubbish to see what happens.

Recycling Mixed Waste

How Is AI Used
Today?
There are many different ways that AI is used today. You may
use AI regularly and not even realise! With a partner, see if you
can think of the ways AI is used today or where you may have
used or seen it.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways it is used:
in voice assistants, such
on websites to
as Siri, Alexa, Cortana
personalise what you
and Google
see
facial recognition to
adverts tailored to your
access devices such as
online searches and
smartphones
search history
in cars detecting when
smart home devices, to slow down, stop or
such as thermostats and change lanes
doorbells
What Are the Advantages
of AI?
There are many different advantages of using artificial
intelligence. Can you think of the ways AI could have a positive
impact?

Here are a few examples that you may have thought

of:
● Human error is less likely.

● AI does not require sleep or rest.

● AI can be programmed to do
repetitive tasks easily.

● Decisions can be made quicker

without outside influence.
What Are the Disadvantages
of AI?Stephen Hawking, a famous scientist, raised
concerns over teaching computers to think too much
like humans. Can you think why this might be?

You might have guessed that he, along with others, worried that
if we teach computers to think and act too much like humans,
that eventually, these computers may become smarter than
humans. This could mean that some workplaces or jobs no
longer require humans.
Here are some other potential disadvantages to AI:
● AI can break and malfunction.
● AI can be expensive to develop and maintain.
● AI can be biased.
● AI only knows what it has previously been
shown.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Using AI
Look at your Advantages
and Disadvantages of
Using AI Activity Sheet.

List some advantages and

disadvantages of using AI
in our world today. It might
help to think about:
● what you have learnt
about AI so far;
● the positives of using
AI;
● the negatives of using
AI;
● how you use AI as an
individual.
How Is AI Evolving?
AI technology is constantly
evolving and scientists
continue to work on
something called machine
perception. As part of this,
scientists want the machines
to be able to understand in a
more human-like way,
reacting to certain situations
by using sensors to detect
smells, taste, touch and what
they hear.
AI Safety
Remember,
AI if you see technology.
is a fast-developing anything that makes
It is you feel
appearing
uncomfortable
more frequentlyonline
in ouror on a device:
everyday lives, so it is
important to keep ourselves safe when we use it.
Here are some tips to help you stay safe when
using
● OnlyAI technology:
use AI technology that a trusted
adult has given you permission to use.
● Do not share personal information with
AI systems, such as your name, address
or phone number.
● AI systems are not perfect and can
make mistakes, so always double-check
information you receive from them.
Report
Report via the online
site that you Save Stop
experienced it on. Tell a Keep Stop using the
trusted adult about it evidence; take device
and ask for help. screenshots. immediately.