Enterprise Artificial Intelligence Definitions

This glossary explains the meaning of key words and phrases that information technology (IT) and business professionals use when discussing artificial intelligence and related software products. You can find additional definitions by visiting WhatIs.com or using the search box below.

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  • A

    adversarial machine learning

    Adversarial machine learning is a technique used in machine learning (ML) to fool or misguide a model with malicious input.

  • AI art (artificial intelligence art)

    AI art (artificial intelligence art) is any form of digital art created or enhanced with AI tools.

  • AI prompt

    An artificial intelligence (AI) prompt is a mode of interaction between a human and a large language model that lets the model generate the intended output.

  • AI prompt engineer

    An AI prompt engineer is an expert in creating text-based prompts or cues that can be interpreted and understood by large language models and generative AI tools.

  • AI watermarking

    AI watermarking is the process of embedding a recognizable, unique signal into the output of an artificial intelligence model, such as text or an image, to identify that content as AI generated.

  • AI winter

    AI winter is a quiet period for artificial intelligence research and development.

  • algorithmic transparency

    Algorithmic transparency is openness about the purpose, structure and underlying actions of the algorithms used to search for, process and deliver information.

  • Amazon Bedrock (AWS Bedrock)

    Amazon Bedrock -- also known as AWS Bedrock -- is a machine learning platform used to build generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications on the Amazon Web Services cloud computing platform.

  • ambient intelligence (AmI)

    Ambient intelligence, sometimes referred to as AmI, is the element of a pervasive computing environment that enables it to interact with and respond appropriately to the humans in that environment.

  • anomaly detection

    Anomaly detection is the process of identifying data points, entities or events that fall outside the normal range.

  • artificial general intelligence (AGI)

    Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is the representation of generalized human cognitive abilities in software so that, faced with an unfamiliar task, the AI system could find a solution.

  • artificial intelligence (AI)

    Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.

  • artificial intelligence (AI) governance

    Artificial intelligence governance is the legal framework for ensuring AI and machine learning technologies are researched and developed with the goal of helping humanity navigate the adoption and use of these systems in ethical and responsible ways.

  • Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS)

    Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS) is the third-party offering of artificial intelligence (AI) outsourcing.

  • artificial superintelligence (ASI)

    Artificial superintelligence (ASI) is a software-based system with intellectual powers beyond those of humans across a comprehensive range of categories and fields of endeavor.

  • assistive technology (adaptive technology)

    Assistive technology is a set of devices intended to help people who have disabilities.

  • automated machine learning (AutoML)

    Automated machine learning (AutoML) is the process of applying machine learning (ML) models to real-world problems using automation.

  • automated reasoning

    Automated reasoning is the area of computer science concerned with applying reasoning in the form of logic to computing systems.

  • B

    backpropagation algorithm

    Backpropagation, or backward propagation of errors, is an algorithm that is designed to test for errors working back from output nodes to input nodes.

  • BERT language model

    BERT is an open source machine learning framework for natural language processing (NLP).

  • C

    case-based reasoning (CBR)

    Case-based reasoning (CBR) is an experience-based approach to solving new problems by adapting previously successful solutions to similar problems.

  • clustering in machine learning

    Clustering is a data science technique in machine learning that groups similar rows in a data set.

  • cognitive bias

    Cognitive bias is a systematic thought process caused by the tendency of the human brain to simplify information processing through a filter of personal experience and preferences.

  • cognitive computing

    Cognitive computing is the use of computerized models to simulate the human thought process in complex situations where the answers might be ambiguous and uncertain.

  • cognitive modeling

    Cognitive modeling is an area of computer science that deals with simulating human problem-solving and mental processing in a computerized model.

  • cognitive search

    Cognitive search represents a new generation of enterprise search that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve users' search queries and extract relevant information from multiple diverse data sets.

  • computational linguistics (CL)

    Computational linguistics (CL) is the application of computer science to the analysis and comprehension of written and spoken language.

  • conversational AI

    Conversational AI is a type of artificial intelligence that enables computers to understand, process and generate human language.

  • convolutional neural network (CNN)

    A convolutional neural network (CNN or convnet) is a subset of machine learning.

  • crypto-agility

    Crypto-agility, or cryptographic agility, is a data encryption practice used by organizations to ensure a rapid response to a cryptographic threat.

  • D

    Dall-E

    Dall-E is a generative AI technology that enables users to create new images with text to graphics prompts.

  • data dignity

    Data dignity, also known as data as labor, is a theory positing that people should be compensated for the data they have created.

  • data scientist

    A data scientist is an analytics professional who is responsible for collecting, analyzing and interpreting data to help drive decision-making in an organization.

  • data splitting

    Data splitting is when data is divided into two or more subsets. Typically, with a two-part split, one part is used to evaluate or test the data and the other for training the model.

  • decision tree in machine learning

    A decision tree is a flow chart created by a computer algorithm to make decisions or numeric predictions based on information in a digital data set.

  • deconvolutional networks (deconvolutional neural networks)

    Deconvolutional networks are convolutional neural networks (CNN) that work in a reversed process.

  • deep learning

    Deep learning is a type of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) that imitates the way humans gain certain types of knowledge.

  • deep tech

    Deep technology, or deep tech, refers to advanced technologies based on some form of substantial scientific or engineering innovation.

  • dropout

    Dropout refers to data, or noise, that's intentionally dropped from a neural network to improve processing and time to results.

  • What is data science? The ultimate guide

    Data science is the process of using advanced analytics techniques and scientific principles to analyze data and extract valuable information for business decision-making, strategic planning and other uses.

  • E

    edge AI

    Edge artificial intelligence (edge AI) is a paradigm for crafting AI workflows that span centralized data centers (the cloud) and devices outside the cloud that are closer to humans and physical things (the edge).

  • expert system

    An expert system is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to simulate the judgment and behavior of a human or an organization that has expertise and experience in a particular field.

  • F

    face detection

    Face detection, also called facial detection, is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based computer technology used to find and identify human faces in digital images and video.

  • facial recognition

    Facial recognition is a category of biometric software that maps an individual's facial features mathematically and stores the data as a faceprint.

  • Fréchet inception distance (FID)

    Fréchet inception distance (FID) is a metric for quantifying the realism and diversity of images generated by generative adversarial networks (GANs).

  • fuzzy logic

    Fuzzy logic is an approach to computing based on "degrees of truth" rather than the usual "true or false" (1 or 0) Boolean logic on which the modern computer is based.

  • G

    generative adversarial network (GAN)

    A generative adversarial network (GAN) is a machine learning (ML) model in which two neural networks compete with each other by using deep learning methods to become more accurate in their predictions.

  • generative modeling

    Generative modeling is the use of artificial intelligence (AI), statistics and probability in applications to produce a representation or abstraction of observed phenomena or target variables that can be calculated from observations.

  • Google Bard

    Google Bard is an AI-powered chatbot tool designed by Google to simulate human conversations using natural language processing and machine learning.

  • GPT-3

    GPT-3, or the third-generation Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a neural network machine learning model trained using internet data to generate any type of text.

  • What is generative AI? Everything you need to know

    Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data.

  • I

    IBM Watson supercomputer

    Watson was a supercomputer designed and developed by IBM. This advanced computer combined artificial intelligence (AI), automation and sophisticated analytics capabilities to deliver optimal performance as a 'question answering' machine.

  • image recognition

    Image recognition, in the context of machine vision, is the ability of software to identify objects, places, people, writing and actions in digital images.

  • image-to-image translation

    Image-to-image translation is a generative artificial intelligence (AI) technique that translates a source image into a target image while preserving certain visual properties of the original image.

  • inception score (IS)

    The inception score (IS) is a mathematical algorithm used to measure or determine the quality of images created by generative AI through a generative adversarial network (GAN).

  • intelligent agent

    An intelligent agent is a program that can make decisions or perform a service based on its environment, user input and experiences.

  • intelligent process automation (IPA)

    Intelligent process automation (IPA) is a combination of technologies used to manage and automate digital processes.

  • K

    knowledge engineering

    Knowledge engineering is a field of artificial intelligence (AI) that tries to emulate the judgment and behavior of a human expert in a given field.

  • L

    LangChain

    LangChain is an open source framework that lets software developers working with artificial intelligence (AI) and its machine learning subset combine large language models with other external components to develop LLM-powered applications.

  • language modeling

    Language modeling, or LM, is the use of various statistical and probabilistic techniques to determine the probability of a given sequence of words occurring in a sentence. Language models analyze bodies of text data to provide a basis for their word predictions.

  • lemmatization

    Lemmatization is the process of grouping together different inflected forms of the same word.

  • linear regression

    Linear regression identifies the relationship between the mean value of one variable and the corresponding values of one or more other variables.

  • M

    machine learning bias (AI bias)

    Machine learning bias, also sometimes called algorithm bias or AI bias, is a phenomenon that occurs when an algorithm produces results that are systemically prejudiced due to erroneous assumptions in the machine learning process.

  • machine learning engineer (ML engineer)

    A machine learning engineer (ML engineer) is a person in IT who focuses on researching, building and designing self-running artificial intelligence (AI) systems to automate predictive models.

  • machine teaching

    Machine teaching is the practice of infusing context -- and often business consequences -- into the selection of training data used in machine learning (ML) so that the most relevant outputs are produced by the ML algorithms.

  • machine translation

    Machine translation technology enables the conversion of text or speech from one language to another using computer algorithms.

  • machine vision

    Machine vision is the ability of a computer to see; it employs one or more video cameras, analog-to-digital conversion and digital signal processing.

  • multimodal AI

    Multimodal AI is artificial intelligence that combines multiple types, or modes, of data to create more accurate determinations, draw insightful conclusions or make more precise predictions about real-world problems.

  • What is machine learning and how does it work? In-depth guide

    Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) focused on building computer systems that learn from data. The broad range of techniques ML encompasses enables software applications to improve their performance over time.

  • N

    narrow AI (weak AI)

    Narrow AI is an application of artificial intelligence technologies to enable a high-functioning system that replicates -- and perhaps surpasses -- human intelligence for a dedicated purpose.

  • natural language generation (NLG)

    Natural language generation (NLG) is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) programming to produce written or spoken narratives from a data set.

  • natural language processing (NLP)

    Natural language processing (NLP) is the ability of a computer program to understand human language as it is spoken and written -- referred to as natural language.

  • natural language understanding (NLU)

    Natural language understanding (NLU) is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses computer software to understand input in the form of sentences using text or speech.

  • neural net processor

    A neural net processor is a central processing unit (CPU) that holds the modeled workings of how a human brain operates on a single chip.

  • neural network

    A neural network is a machine learning (ML) model designed to mimic the function and structure of the human brain.

  • neural radiance field (NeRF)

    Neural radiance fields (NeRF) are a technique that generates 3D representations of an object or scene from 2D images by using advanced machine learning.

  • neuromorphic computing

    Neuromorphic computing is a method of computer engineering in which elements of a computer are modeled after systems in the human brain and nervous system.

  • neurosynaptic chip

    A neurosynaptic chip, also known as a cognitive chip, is a computer processor that is designed to function more like a biological brain than a typical central processing unit (CPU).

  • O

    OpenAI

    OpenAI is a private research laboratory that aims to develop and direct artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that benefit humanity as a whole.

  • P

    predictive modeling

    Predictive modeling is a mathematical process used to predict future events or outcomes by analyzing patterns in a given set of input data.

  • prompt engineering

    Prompt engineering is an AI engineering technique encompassing the process of refining LLMs with specific prompts and recommended outputs, as well as the process of refining input to various generative AI services to generate text or images.

  • PyTorch

    PyTorch is an open source machine learning (ML) framework based on the Python programming language and the Torch library.

  • Q

    Q-learning

    Q-learning is a machine learning approach that enables a model to iteratively learn and improve over time by taking the correct action.

  • R

    recurrent neural networks

    A recurrent neural network (RNN) is a type of artificial neural network commonly used in speech recognition and natural language processing.

  • reinforcement learning

    Reinforcement learning is a machine learning training method based on rewarding desired behaviors and punishing undesired ones.

  • responsible AI

    Responsible AI is an approach to developing and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) from both an ethical and legal point of view.

  • retrieval-augmented generation

    Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is an AI framework that retrieves data from external sources.

  • robo-advisor

    A robo-advisor is a virtual financial advisor powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that employs an algorithm to deliver an automated selection of financial advisory services.

  • robot

    A robot is a machine designed to execute one or more tasks automatically with speed and precision. There are as many different types of robots as there are tasks for them to perform.

  • robot economy

    The robot economy is a scenario in which most of the labor required to sustain human life is automated.

  • robotic surgery (robot-assisted surgery)

    Robotic surgery is the use of computer technologies working in conjunction with robot systems to perform medical procedures.

  • S

    self-driving car (autonomous car or driverless car)

    A self-driving car (sometimes called an autonomous car or driverless car) is a vehicle that uses a combination of sensors, cameras, radar and artificial intelligence (AI) to travel between destinations without a human operator.

  • singularity

    In technology, the singularity describes a hypothetical future where technology growth is out of control and irreversible.

  • social robot

    A social robot is an artificial intelligence (AI) system that is designed to interact with humans and other robots.

  • stemming

    Stemming is the process of reducing a word to its stem that affixes to suffixes and prefixes or to the roots of words known as "lemmas."

  • supervised learning

    Supervised learning is an approach to creating artificial intelligence (AI) where a computer algorithm is trained on input data that has been labeled for a particular output.

  • sustainable AI

    Sustainable AI is the use of artificial intelligence systems that operate in ways contingent with sustainable business practices.

  • T

    telepresence robot

    A telepresence robot is a remote-controlled, wheeled device that has wireless internet connectivity.

  • transformer model

    A transformer model is a neural network architecture that can automatically transform one type of input into another type of output.

  • Turing Test

    A Turing Test is a method of inquiry in artificial intelligence (AI) for determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being.

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