accelerating change – A perceived increase in the rate of technological change throughout history, which may suggest faster and more profound change in the future and may or may not be accompanied by equally profound social and cultural change.
algorithm – An unambiguous specification of how to solve a class of problems. Algorithms can perform calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning tasks.
algorithm governance – Algorithm governance covers the rules and practices for the construction and use of algorithms embedded in AI technologies designed for a specific use case. It is not simply a charter or a set of ethical principles, but is based on all the measures to be taken in order to ensure that the algorithm in question functions properly and to guard against any errors such as technological discrimination or non-compliance with the law.
Amara’s Law – We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.
ambient intelligence (AMI) – Electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people.
analytics – The discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data.
android – A humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Female androids are also gynoids or fembots (a portmanteau from female and robot) (see gynoid and uncanny valley) A slang term is droid.
applicant tracking system (ATS) – A software application that enables the electronic handling of recruitment and hiring needs.
artificial imagination (also synthetic imagination or machine imagination) – The artificial simulation of human imagination by general or special purpose computers or artificial neural networks. The applied form of it is known as media synthesis or synthetic media.
artificial intelligence (AI) (also cognitive computing, machine intelligence, synthetic intelligence) – Intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by humans or by other animals.
- adversarial AI – The use of artificial intelligence techniques to manipulate or deceive AI systems.
- conversational AI – A type of technology, like a chatbot, that simulates human conversation, making it possible for users to interact with and talk to it.
- curiosity intelligence – Curiosity artificial intelligence (AI) mimics the natural curiosity of humans that allows us to learn things on our own. The goal is to develop curiosity through machine learning (ML) algorithms so AI systems can seek solutions to new problems independently.
- decision intelligence – Decision intelligence (DI) combines data science with different scientific theories to help people make the best possible decisions. It aims to provide actionable insights by translating raw data into formats that decision-makers can easily understand.
- The study and development of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human affects.
- friendly AI (also friendly artificial intelligence, FAI) – A hypothetical artificial general intelligence (AGI) that would have a positive effect on humanity. It is a part of the ethics of artificial intelligence and is closely related to machine ethics. While machine ethics is concerned with how an artificially intelligent agent should behave, friendly artificial intelligence research is focused on how to practically bring about this behavior and ensure it is adequately constrained.
- general AI (AGI) (also strong AI, ASI) – AI that could successfully do any intellectual task that can be done by any human being. See consciousness.
- generative AI (also GenAI, evolving AI, self-improving AI)- Generative AI uses machine learning (ML) to produce new content from an extensive training dataset. The format of the result can be text, images, video, code, 3D renderings, or audio. Nowadays, when we interact with a search engine like Google or when we use a traditional question-answer chatbot, we are requesting existing information. In contrast, when using generative AI-based tools, the model is using existing information to generate original content, such as songs, poems, articles, etc. (slang stochastic parrot, word calculator)
- interactive AI – AI systems that can engage in human-like conversations and respond dynamically to user inputs. These systems are designed to understand the nuances of human language, interpret context, and provide appropriate responses.
- nouvelle AI – Nouvelle AI differs from classical AI by aiming to produce robots with intelligence levels similar to insects. Researchers believe that intelligence can emerge organically from simple behaviors as these intelligences interacted with the “real world”, instead of using the constructed worlds which symbolic AIs typically needed to have programmed into them.
- pseudo-AI – The phenomenon of so-called pseudo-AI happens when companies promote their ultrasmart AI interfaces and don’t mention the people working behind the scenes as fake chatbots. In their eager quest to gain the attention of wealthy investors, some companies give the impression their platforms or tools are already past the stage of needing thorough [machine learning] training and are fully automated. That’s called The Wizard of Oz design technique, because it reminds people of the famous movie scene where Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pulls back the curtain and reveals a man operating the controls for the Wizard’s giant talking head.
- responsible AI – Ethical and thoughtful development and use of AI systems with fairness, transparency, and societal impact to ensure that AI benefits society while minimizing potential harms.
- seed AI – An Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) which improves itself by recursively rewriting its own source code without human intervention. Initially, this program would likely have minimal intelligence, but over the course of many iterations, it would evolve to human-equivalent or even trans-human reasoning. The key to successful AI takeoff would lie in creating adequate starting conditions.
- weak AI (also narrow AI, ANI) – A model that has a set range of skills and focuses on one particular set of tasks. Most AI currently in use is weak AI, unable to learn or perform tasks outside of its specialist skill set.
AI agent – An independent program or entity that interacts with its environment by perceiving its surroundings via sensors, then acting through actuators or effectors. AI agents are autonomous systems that can perceive their environment, reason, and act to achieve specific goals. They are an integral part of artificial intelligence and have a wide range of applications, from simple virtual assistants to complex systems like self-driving cars (autonomous vehicle).
- goal-based agents – These agents have specific goals and use a search algorithm to find the best sequence of actions to achieve them.
- learning agents – These agents can learn from their experiences and adapt their behavior over time.
- model-based reflex agents – These agents maintain an internal state and use a model of the world to choose their actions.
- simple reflex agents – These agents act based on the current state of their environment, using a condition-action rule to determine their response.
- utility-based agents – These agents choose actions based on a utility function that measures the desirability of a particular state.
AI alignment – A field of AI safety research that aims to ensure artificial intelligence systems achieve desired outcomes. AI alignment research keeps AI systems working for humans, no matter how powerful the technology becomes.
AI anthropomorphism – Attributing human characteristics to programs and robots. (see Uncanny Valley)
AI drift – The unpredictably wonky behavior of large language models (LLMs) that stray from their straight-out-of-the-box state: a deterioration in performance of an AI over time. Responses are less intelligent and relevant; resulting in a chatbot seeming “dumber” compared to when it was introduced.
AI effect – The tendency to redefine AI to mean: “AI is whatever hasn’t been done yet.” [Tesler’s Theorem] This is the common public misperception, that as soon as AI successfully solves a problem, that solution method is no longer within the domain of AI.
AI takeoff – the process of an Artificial General Intelligence going from a certain threshold of capability (often discussed as “human-level”) to being super-intelligent and capable enough to control the fate of civilization. There has been much debate about whether AI takeoff is more likely to be slow vs fast, i.e., “soft” vs “hard“.
Asimov’s Laws of Robotics – 0) A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. 1) A robot may not injure a human being o, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
augmented intelligence (enhanced intelligence) – Augmented intelligence is a partnership model between people and artificial intelligence (AI) systems that aims to improve cognitive performance and decision making and come up with new learning implementations.
autonomous – A machine is described as autonomous if it can perform its task or tasks without needing human intervention.
autonomous vehicle (AV) – A vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and moving with little or no human input. Autonomous vehicle types include:
- ncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV, drone)
- uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV, driverless vehicle, self-driving car/truck…)
- uncrewed surface vehicle (USV, autonomous ship)
- uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV, autonomous submarine)
avatar – Among people working on virtual reality and cyberspace interfaces, an avatar is an icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual reality. In Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god.
basic AI drive – A goal or motivation that most intelligences will have or converge to. The idea was first explored by Steve Omohundro. He argued that sufficiently advanced AI systems would all naturally discover similar instrumental subgoals. The view that there are important basic AI drives was subsequently defended by Nick Bostrom as the instrumental convergence thesis, or the convergent instrumental goals thesis. On this view, a few goals are instrumental to almost all possible final goals. Therefore, all advanced AIs will pursue these instrumental goals. [see orthogonality thesis]
Black Boxes – We call things we don’t understand, “black boxes” because what happens inside the box cannot be seen. Many machine learning algorithms are “black boxes” meaning that we don’t have an understanding of how a system is using features of the data when making their decisions (generally, we do know what features are used but not how they are used).
bias – In machine learning, bias occurs when an algorithm’s result is changed in favor of or against a given idea. Bias is a systematic error that takes place because of incorrect assumptions in an algorithm.
big data – Big data is the name given to enormous data sets that are too large to process using traditional computing. Through data mining, powerful AI software can analyze these large databases to identify patterns and draw conclusions.
biomimetics (also biomimicry) – The imitation of biological processes or models from nature.
bot – An autonomous program on the Internet or another network that can interact with systems or users. Also a slang term for robot.
brain-computer interface (BCI) (also brain–machine interface (BMI) or smartbrain)- a direct communication pathway between the brain’s electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often directed at researching, mapping, assisting, augmenting, or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions. They are often conceptualized as a human–machine interface that skips the intermediary component of the physical movement of body parts, although they also raise the possibility of the erasure of the discreteness of brain and machine. Implementations of BCIs range from non-invasive (EEG, MEG, EOG, MRI) and partially invasive (ECoG and endovascular) to invasive (microelectrode array), based on how close electrodes get to brain tissue.
chatbot (originally chatterbot) – A software application that aims to mimic human conversation through text or voice interactions, typically online. Types of chatbots:
- assistant bot – Assistant bots, like support bots, need to be good at conversations and answering FAQs. They must also be entertaining to maintain user interest.
- conversational bot – This type of chatbot must be able to have a conversation with a human in some way or another. Hence, all types of bots are ultimately conversational chatbots.
- informational bot – Information gathering bots can act as research assistants by extracting as much information as possible either from a human or from an Internet resource like a website or an ebook.
- skills chatbot – It’s a single-turn-type that doesn’t require much of contextual awareness. It can just follow a command to perform an action.
- support chatbot – Designed to solve a specific problem, support chatbots require context awareness, a personality, and multi-turn capability. Most of the support chatbots use deep learning and natural language processing to perform actions.
transactional bot – This type of chatbot can be roughly classified within assistant bots as it often acts on behalf of humans to perform various transactions. For example, placing an order, making a reservation, etc.
ChatGPT (Chat-based Generative Pre-trained Transformer) – A system built with a neural network transformer type of AI model that works well in natural language processing tasks (see definitions for neural networks and Natural Language Processing below). In this case, the model: (1) can generate responses to questions (Generative); (2) was trained in advance on a large amount of the written material available on the web (Pre-trained); (3) and can process sentences differently than other types of models (Transformer).
civic analytics – the application of advanced data mining, modeling, and analysis techniques to enable data-informed and evidence-based decision-making in urban and regional operations, policy, and planning.
cobot (collaborative robot) – Not all robots are programmed to perform tasks by themselves. Some of them work alongside humans.
cognitive science – The broader form of AI ties back to linguistics, philosophy, and the meta-existence of computers. It enables machines to simulate human thought and action.
computational creativity – A multidisciplinary endeavor that includes the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, philosophy, and the arts.
computational learning theory – A field within artificial intelligence that is primarily concerned with creating and analyzing machine learning algorithms.
computer – An electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program. (slang box, plural boxen)
computer vision – a field that focuses on how computers can gain high-level insights from digital images or videos.
consciousness – The fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world
- access consciousness – a mental state is access conscious when the information contained in that state is available for use in thought and behavior: for example, the state’s information may be used as a premise in reasoning or for the rational control of action and speech.
- creature consciousness – an individual is creature conscious when the individual is awake and mentally responsive to stimuli—rather than, for example, asleep or anaesthetized.
- introspective consciousness – a conscious mental state (or, equivalently, an individual) is introspectively conscious when the individual is subjectively aware of being in that state in a deliberate and attentive way.
- phenomenal consciousness – a mental state is phenomenally conscious when there is something that it is like for the individual to be in that state.
- self-consciousness – an individual is self-conscious when the individual is subjectively aware of itself
- state consciousness – a mental state is state conscious when an individual is subjectively aware of being in that state.
- transitive consciousness – an individual is transitively conscious (or, as some simply put it, aware) of something when the individual is mentally responsive to that thing, typically either by perceiving or having a thought about it.
conversational user interface (CUI) (also conversational UI) – A conversational user interface is what allows computers to mimic conversations with real humans. These interfaces use Natural Language Process to interpret incoming voice or text and reply with a response. The two primary types of CUIs are voice assistants (like Siri and Alexa) and chatbots.
cookies – A funny name that describes a small piece of information about you (about your computer, actually). It is a small file that a Web server automatically sends to your computer when you browse certain Web sites. Cookies are stored as text files on your hard drive so servers can access them when you return to Web sites you’ve visited before and serve you up personalized information. A fortune cookie is an inane, witty, or profound comment that can be found around the net. When you come across a unique piece of insight, you can say, “What a fortune cookie.”
copilots – AI tools or systems that assist developers in writing code by providing suggestions, autocompletions, and other helpful features based on patterns and knowledge learned from vast code repositories.
corpus – A large dataset of written or spoken material that can be used to train a machine to perform linguistic tasks.
cultural computing – The application field of computers and computational technologies for the preservation, recovery, storage, modeling, recreation, presentation, and communication of culture.
cultural lag – The difference between material culture and non-material culture is known as cultural lag. The term cultural lag refers to the notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological innovations, and the resulting social problems that are caused by this lag.
cyberspace – A concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. It refers to the online world as a world ‘apart,’ as distinct from everyday reality.
cyborg – A portmanteau of cybernetic and organism—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts.
data crunching – The automated analysis of vast amounts of data originating from Big Data.
data mining – The process of analyzing datasets in order to discover new patterns that might improve the model.
dataset – A collection of related data points, usually with a uniform order and tags.
deep learning (DL) – A function of artificial intelligence that imitates the human brain by learning from the way data is structured, rather than from an algorithm that’s programmed to do one specific thing. (see ensemble learning and machine learning)
deepfakes (“deep learning” and “fake”) – (see synthetic media)
Digital Darwinism (Technological Darwinism) – Digital Darwinism refers to the concept that only businesses that can adapt to technological changes can survive. It is a modern-day version of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection—only species with traits that enable them to adapt to their environment can survive and reproduce.
digital divide (also access gap, enhancement divide) – The name of the gap between people who have computers (and are connected to the Internet) and those who do not have computers (and lack Internet access). It refers to an economic trend of “the haves and the have-nots,” and it embodies the ideas that “what you learn is what you earn” and that those who do not have access to computers will be deprived of equal opportunities. It is expected that the “access gap” will close due to government programs, private funding, cyber-mentoring, lower computer costs, and initiatives to spread the benefits of Internet technology to all socioeconomic groups, rural and urban.
digital ecosystem – Several software platforms or cloud services that work in tandem across a network.
digital literacy – Having the skills you need to live, learn, and work in a society where communication and access to information are increasingly through digital technologies like internet platforms, social media, and mobile devices. (slang digiterati also digerati–the literati of the digital world–include people in the industry who are considered knowledgeable, hip, or otherwise in-the-know with regard to the online revolution. Also generation d)
digital revolution (also information revolution, online revolution) – First was the agricultural revolution, then the industrial revolution. Now, there is the digital revolution, which refers to the radical reshaping and restructuring of society caused by digital technology. (see Fifth Industrial Revolution)
digital twin – a digital representation of the built environment or system. A smart city digital twin is continuously updated with real-time data and analytics on interactions between humans, infrastructure, and technology to create a living digital representation of a city.
digitization – the conversion of data and documents into a computer-readable format.
digitalization – the conversion of analog processes to digital experiences. This can make a process more transparent, accessible, and convenient while enabling easier reporting and analysis of incoming information to guide decision-making.
doomscrolling (also doomsurfing) – The act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of negative news online.
Easter egg (also wink) – A hidden element written into a program or placed on a Web site, article, or television show. Basically, it is a special feature that is not otherwise made obvious, but when “clicked on” or viewed, it offers something special. It could be in the form of an extra game level or a secret area, an animation, or a surprise image of some kind. Programmers often “bury” easter eggs in their programs to add a certain extra depth to the program and to challenge their users to find it.
Ebert test – A test that gauges whether a computer-based synthesized voice can tell a joke with sufficient skill to cause people to laugh. It was proposed by film critic Roger Ebert at the 2011 TED conference as a challenge to software developers to have a computerized voice master the inflections, delivery, timing, and intonations of a speaking human. The test is similar to the Turing test proposed by Alan Turing in 1950 as a way to gauge a computer’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior by generating performance indistinguishable from a human being.
ensemble learning – An advanced approach that combines traditional machine learning and deep learning techniques. This diverse set of resources allows interactive AI systems to handle a wide variety of questions and provide effective responses.
existential risk – The hypothesis that substantial progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) could someday result in human extinction or some other unrecoverable global catastrophe.
Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR) (also Industry 5.0) is an already established term introduced by Michael Rada as the next development stage after the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Industry 5.0 generally refers to a future state of the industry where advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, quantum computing, generative AI, and the Internet of Things are designed and employed to augment and amplify human creativity and innovation. (see digital revolution and technological singularity)
FOOM – Fast Onset of Overwhelming Mastery. A sudden increase in artificial intelligence such that an AI system becomes extremely powerful.
futures studies – The study of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them.
gamification – Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, organizations, and activities by creating similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage users.
generative adversarial networks (GAN) – A type of neural network that can generate seemingly authentic photographs on a superficial scale to human eyes. GAN-generated images take elements of photographic data and shape them into realistic-looking images of people, animals, and places.
gynoid – A feminine humanoid robot. (also fembot and robotess) (see android)
heuristic – A problem-solving technique that’s meant to quickly find an acceptable solution when picking an optimal solution is too time-consuming. AI tools use heuristic shortcuts to determine the best decision based on available data.
hallucination (also artificial hallucination, confabulation, delusion) – A confident response by an AI that does not seem to be justified by its training data, either because it is insufficient, biased, or too specialized. Hallucinations are a subset of artificial ignorance (AI slang).
Industrial Revolutions
- Industry 1.0 (IR1) – The First Industrial Revolution was marked by a transition from hand production methods to machines through the use of steam power and water power. The implementation of new technologies took a long time, so the period which this refers to was between 1760 and 1820, or 1840 in Europe and the United States.
- Industry 2.0 (IR2) – The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, is the period between 1871 and 1914 that resulted from installations of extensive railroad and telegraph networks, which allowed for faster transfer of people and ideas, as well as electricity. Increasing electrification allowed for factories to develop the modern production line.
- Industry 3.0 (IR3) – The Third Industrial Revolution, also known as the Digital Revolution, occurred in the late 20th century, after the end of the two world wars, resulting from a slowdown of industrialisation and technological advancement compared to previous periods.
- Industry 4.0 (IR4) – The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the trend towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), IoT, industrial internet of things, cloud computing, cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence.
- Industry 5.0 (IR5) – The Fifth industrial revolution envisions a future where humans and machines collaborate closely, with a focus on human-centric technology and the ethical integration of artificial intelligence to enhance productivity and well-being.
intelligence explosion – A possible outcome of humanity building artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI would be capable of recursive self-improvement leading to the rapid emergence of artificial superintelligence, the limits of which are unknown, at the time of the technological singularity.
Internet (also, Net and information superhighway) – The global system of interconnected computer networks. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies.
Internet of Things (IoT) – Physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.
jailbreaking (also prompt injection) – A method of getting a Large Language Model (e.g. ChatGPT) to write something that violates the program’s (e.g. OpenAI’s) policies, such as insulting minorities, posting instructions for a Molotov cocktail, or making a plan for world domination.
knowledge base (KB) – A set of data available for a program to draw on to perform a task or give a response. The larger the knowledge base an AI application has access to, the wider the range of problems it can solve.
language model (LM) – A neural network trained to generate sentences. By looking at a question, previously selected words, and even grammar cues (such as optimal character count), it creates a response designed to mimic human speech.
large language model (LLM) – A language model consisting of a neural network with many parameters (typically billions of weights or more), trained on large quantities of unlabeled text using self-supervised learning or semi-supervised learning.
List of Dirty, Naughty, Obscene, and Otherwise Bad Words (LDNOOBW) – Over 400 terms identified (e.g. on GitHub) as inappropriate for large language models (LLMs) and AI applications.
Luddites – The Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers which opposed the use of certain types of cost-saving machinery, often by destroying the machines in clandestine raids. They protested against manufacturers who used machines in “a fraudulent and deceitful manner” to replace the skilled labor of workers and drive down wages by producing inferior goods. Members of the group referred to themselves as Luddites, self-described followers of “Ned Ludd”, a legendary weaver whose name was used as a pseudonym in threatening letters to mill owners and government officials. The Luddite movement began in Nottingham, England, and spread to the North West and Yorkshire between 1811 and 1816. Mill and factory owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed with legal and military force, which included execution and penal transportation of accused and convicted Luddites. Over time, the term has been used to refer to those opposed to industrialization, automation, computerization, or new technologies in general.
machine consciousness (also artificial consciousness) – An awareness state attained by machines after a specific period of time to decipher human emotions and expressions. It’s being experimented on in the robotics industry.
machine intelligence – An umbrella term for various types of learning algorithms, including machine learning and deep learning. (see artificial intelligence)
machine learning (ML) – This subset of AI is particularly focused on developing algorithms that will help machines to learn and change in response to new data, without the help of a human being. (see deep learning and ensemble learning)
machine translation – The translation of text by an algorithm, independent of any human involvement.
machinima (machine cinema) – Short films made with game engines on personal computers.
mechatronics (also mechatronic engineering) – A multidisciplinary branch of engineering that focuses on the engineering of both electrical and mechanical systems, and also includes a combination of robotics, electronics, computer, telecommunications, systems, control, and product engineering.
model –A broad term referring to the product of AI training, created by running a machine learning algorithm on training data.
Moore’s Law – Moore’s law is the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles about every two years. Moore’s law is an observation and projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of physics, it is an empirical relationship linked to gains from experience in production.
Moravec’s Paradox – The observation in artificial intelligence and robotics that, contrary to traditional assumptions, reasoning requires very little computation, but sensorimotor and perception skills require enormous computational resources. Moravec wrote in 1988, “it is comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and mobility”.
nanobots – Molecular-sized robots measured on a nanoscale and programmed to accomplish a specific task within the human body. The concept is used to create smart vaccines, cancer therapy, and immunotherapy through painless methods of medication.
natural language generation (NLG) – This refers to the process by which a machine turns structured data into text or speech that humans can understand. Essentially, NLG is concerned with what a machine writes or says as the end part of the communication process.
natural language processing (NLP): The umbrella term for any machine’s ability to perform conversational tasks, such as recognizing what is said to it, understanding the intended meaning, and responding intelligibly.
natural language understanding (NLU): As a subset of natural language processing, natural language understanding deals with helping machines recognize the intended meaning of language — taking into account its subtle nuances and any grammatical errors.
neural network (NN) (also artificial neural network, ANN, connectionism, cybernetics, neural net) – A computer system designed to function like the human brain. Although researchers are still working on creating a machine model of the human brain, existing neural networks can perform many tasks involving speech, vision, and board game strategy.
Orthogonality Thesis – An agent can have any combination of intelligence level and final goal, that is, its Utility Functions and General Intelligence can vary independently of each other. This is in contrast to the belief that, because of their intelligence, AIs will all converge to a common goal. [see basic AI drive]
overfitting – A symptom of machine learning training in which an algorithm is only able to work on or identify specific examples present in the training data. A working model should be able to use the general trends behind the data to work on new examples.
Paperclip Maximizer – The paperclip maximizer is a thought experiment described by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom in 2003. It illustrates the existential risk that an artificial general intelligence may pose to human beings were it to be successfully designed to pursue even seemingly harmless goals and the necessity of incorporating machine ethics into artificial intelligence design. The scenario describes an advanced artificial intelligence tasked with manufacturing paperclips. If such a machine were not programmed to value human life, given enough power over its environment, it would try to turn all matter in the universe, including human beings, into paperclips or machines that manufacture paperclips.
pattern recognition – The distinction between pattern recognition and machine learning is often blurry, but this field is basically concerned with finding trends and patterns in data.
penetration test (also pen test or ethical hacking) – A cybersecurity technique that organizations use to identify, test and highlight vulnerabilities in their security posture. (also pentesting and red teaming)
plugins – Software components or modules that can be added to existing programs or systems to extend their functionality, allowing for customization without altering the core software.
predictive analytics – By combining data mining and machine learning, this type of analytics is built to forecast what will happen within a given timeframe based on historical data and trends. An example of predictive analytics in business is Netflix’s algorithm that’s capable of recommending additional shows and movies to watch based on a person’s viewing history.
prompt engineering (also prompt design)- The process of creating and refining prompts for artificial intelligence systems to get the best output. The input, or what you tell the AI model to do, is what you call the prompt. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, predicts words in sequence. The technology is trained on a large data set to churn out the best probable word sequence after being given a prompt.
reality(also physical reality) – The world that exists independent of our perceptions and beliefs. (slang meatspace)
- augmented reality (AR) – An interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are “augmented” by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory. (see cyberspace)
- extended reality (XR) – A catch-all term to refer to augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).
- mixed reality (MR) – A medium consisting of immersive computer-generated environments in which elements of a physical and virtual environment are combined.
- virtual reality (VR) -The computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.
red teaming – The process of testing your cybersecurity effectiveness through the removal of defender bias by applying an adversarial lens to your organization. Red teaming occurs when ethical hackers are authorized by your organization to emulate real attackers’ tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) against your own systems. It is a security risk assessment service that your organization can use to proactively identify and remediate IT security gaps and weaknesses.
robot – A machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically.
robotic process automation (RPA) – Uses software with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to perform repetitive tasks once completed by humans.
robotics – An interdisciplinary branch of science and engineering that includes mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, computer science, and others. Robotics deals with the design, construction, operation, and use of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing. (see Asimov’s Laws of Robotics)
sentiment analysis – The process of identifying and categorizing opinions in a piece of text, often with the goal of determining the writer’s attitude towards something. Sentiment analysis allows systems to understand the underlying emotions and attitudes behind user inputs. This capability enables AI-powered devices to respond empathetically and effectively to user needs.
smart city – A technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return, that data is used to improve operations across the city.
software – A collection of data or computer instructions that tell the computer how to work. This is in contrast to physical hardware, from which the system is built and actually performs the work. Warez is a slang catchall term for software that includes the following:
- adware – In general adware refers to any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running. These ads are commonly viewed through pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen
- apyware – Derived from the word spyware, “apyware” is an intentional typo used to describe anti-spyware. The reason why it is intentional is that many people type the “a” instead of the “s” when searching for “spyware” and when they do, site owners who have included “apyware” in the meta tag will appear in the search results
- everyware (also ubiquitous computing, ubicomp) – Technically ubiquitous computing refers to a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. As opposed to the desktop model, in which a single user consciously engages a single device for a specialized purpose, someone using “everyware” engages many computational devices and systems simultaneously, in the course of ordinary activities, and may not necessarily even be aware that they are doing so.
- firmware – A specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device’s specific hardware.
- freeware – Software that is available free of charge.
- groupware – Software designed to facilitate collective working by a number of different users.
- hardware – Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer. (slang chips and salsa – hardware and software)
- malware – Malicious software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.
- shareware -software that is available free of charge and often distributed informally for evaluation, after which a fee may be requested for continued use.
- shovelware – The extra stuff “shoveled” onto a CD-ROM or Web site just to fill up the extra space.
- shelfware (also coasterware) – Slang for software that is so worthless it remains in the shrink-wrapped box on the shelf above your desk. In a practical sense, it refers to any kind of software program you buy at a big box store, off of a shelf (as opposed to downloading it).
- spyware – Software that gathers information about a user as he or she navigates around the Web, it is intended to track surfing habits in order to build marketing profiles
- thiefware (also stealware)- Slang for when a company seizes revenues of online merchants and affiliates by siphoning commissions.
- vaporware (also wonderware) – Software that never makes it off the drawing board, or that’s been hyped up for months but isn’t available anywhere.
- wankware – X-rated software.
- wetware – Slang for the human brain. (also slang meatjail)
superintelligence – A hypothetical agent that possesses intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. Superintelligence may also refer to a property of problem-solving systems (e.g., superintelligent language translators or engineering assistants) whether or not these high-level intellectual competencies are embodied in agents that act within the physical world. A superintelligence may or may not be created by an intelligence explosion and be associated with a technological singularity. See consciousness.
synthetic media (also AI-generated media and deepfakes) – The artificial production, manipulation, and modification of data and media by automated means, especially through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms, such as for the purpose of misleading people or changing an original meaning.
swarm intelligence (SI) – The collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems, either natural or artificial. The expression was introduced in the context of cellular robotic systems.
technological singularity (also the singularity) – A hypothetical point in the future when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization.
technopolis – A technologically advanced city.
token – A sequence of characters or a piece of a word that a chatbot can process to interpret what a human user is saying. Reading tokens instead of entire words makes it easier for chatbots to understand what a user writes, even if misspellings or foreign languages are present. For example, if someone writes weress my odrer?, advanced chatbots leveraging tokens can piece together and accurately respond to this question.
training data – labeled datasets input to supervised machine-learning models to teach them relationships they can infer from the data. A prototypical example is a collection of images labeled by what they contain in a separate spreadsheet. The quantity, quality, and degree of representation in these datasets have important implications for how the models created from them perform in real-world applications and the degree of bias they operate with.
transhumanism (H+, h+) – An international philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology.
trolley problem – A series of thought experiments in ethics and psychology, involving stylized ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number. The series usually begins with a scenario in which a runaway tram or trolley is on course to collide with and kill a number of people (traditionally five) down the track, but a driver or bystander can intervene and divert the vehicle to kill just one person on a different track. Then other variations of the runaway vehicle, and analogous life-and-death dilemmas (medical, judicial etc.) are posed, each containing the option to either do nothing, in which case several people will be killed, or intervene and sacrifice one initially “safe” person to save the others. (see Asimov’s Laws of Robotics)
Turing test – Named after Alan Turing, famed mathematician, computer scientist, and logician, this tests a machine’s ability to pass for a human, particularly in the fields of language and behavior. After being graded by a human, the machine passes if its output is indistinguishable from that of a human participant.
uncanny valley – A hypothesized relation between an object’s degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The concept suggests that humanoid objects (e.g. androids) that imperfectly resemble actual human beings provoke uncanny or strangely familiar feelings of uneasiness and revulsion in observers. “Valley” denotes a dip in the human observer’s affinity for the replica—a relation that otherwise increases with the replica’s human likeness.
urban informatics – the study of urban phenomena through an evidence-based framework of urban sensing, data mining and integration, modeling and analysis, and visualization to advance methods in computational sciences and address urban and regional challenges.
warez – This slang word is considered by many users to be a catchall term for software which includes firmware, freeware, everyware, groupware, malware, shareware, shovelware, thiefware, vaporware, wankware, and wetware. (see software)
web scraping, (also web harvesting, web extraction) – The process of using bots to extract content and data from a website. Unlike screen scraping, which only copies pixels displayed onscreen, web scraping extracts underlying HTML code and, with it, data stored in a database. The scraper can then replicate entire website content elsewhere.
web surfing – The practice of navigating between websites using hyperlinks in an Internet browser.
World Wide Web, WWW (also web) – An information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet according to specific rules, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
- dark web – The dark web refers to content on the internet that is intentionally hidden and requires special software, like Tor Browser, to access. The dark web is a subset of the deep web, which is all content on the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines. (slang ogooglebar and ungoogleable is something unable to be found on a search engine)
- deep web – The part of the web not indexed by a web search engine.
- surface web (also indexable web, indexed web, lightnet, visible web) – The portion of the World Wide Web that is readily available to the general public and searchable with standard web search engines.
…and there was much rejoicing.
The Jargon File