Definition · foundations
artificial intelligence (AI)
artificial intelligence (AI) is a machine system that predicts or makes choices for goals set by people. You can spot artificial intelligence (AI) in practice when the record shows what the system observes, what choice it makes, and what changes next, without asking the reader to guess or trust a slogan.
157 definitions656 sourced recordsNamed source: csrc.nist.gov
Why does artificial intelligence (AI) matter?
This machine can predict or choose for a goal set by people. That alone does not make it an agent. For artificial intelligence (AI), start with three checks: What can the system observe? What choice can it make? What changes after it acts? The answers should point to visible evidence, not a promise.
What does artificial intelligence (AI) look like?
A fraud model scores a card payment and sends the score to a bank rule. This example makes artificial intelligence (AI) visible by naming the actor, the action, and the result in practice. It is an illustration for readers, not a claim that every product behaves this way.
What is artificial intelligence (AI) easy to confuse with?
Artificial intelligence includes systems that never act. Agentic AI is built to choose and carry out actions. The closest entries here are approval gate, autonomous tool use, goal-directedness. Compare their definitions with artificial intelligence (AI) before using the names as if they mean the same thing.
How certain is this definition?
This definition is marked source checked because csrc.nist.gov supports its main points. The date shows when we last read that source. If you are making a purchase, policy, safety, or design decision, open the source first and make sure its limits fit the decision in front of you.
Who introduced the term artificial intelligence (AI)?
The source shows how artificial intelligence (AI) is used, but it does not prove who said it first. We name an origin only when a dated, direct record supports it. If that record is missing, we leave the question open instead of repeating a popular story as fact.
What should you understand before artificial intelligence (AI)?
Read AI agent first when artificial intelligence (AI) depends on a more basic idea or mechanism. The link gives you a useful route through the glossary. It does not mean every author teaches the subject in this order, so follow the source when the sequence matters.
What should this term help you answer?
Use artificial intelligence (AI) to ask what an agent can observe, decide, change, remember, or hand off. The questions below turn the definition into a practical check. They are prompts for your own work, not claims made by the source, so change them to fit the system you are examining.
- What can the system observe?
- What choice can it make?
- What changes after it acts?
Which source supports this definition of artificial intelligence (AI)?
csrc.nist.gov supports this working definition of artificial intelligence (AI). We checked the link on 2026-07-12. Open the original record for its context, methods, limits, and publication details. The short explanation here is a guide to artificial intelligence (AI); the linked source remains the evidence to inspect when the wording or boundary matters.
direct supportartificial intelligence (AI)Checked 2026-07-12→