AI (Artificial Intelligence) or Kepintaran Buatan (Malay) is a broad field , and means different things to different people. It is concerned with getting computers to do tasks that require human intelligence. There are many tasks which we might reasonably think require intelligence, such as complex arithmetic- which computers can do very easily. Conversely, there are many tasks that people do without even thinking – such as recognizing a face – which are extremely difficult to automate. AI is concerned with these difficult tasks, which require complex and sophisticated reasoning processes and knowledge.
People might want to automate human intelligence for a number of different reasons. One reason is simply to understand human intelligence better. For example, we may be able to test and refine theories of human intelligence by writing programs which attempt to simulate aspects of human behavior. Another reason is simply so that we have smarter programs and machines. We may not care if the programs accurately simulate human reasoning, but by studying human reasoning we may develop useful techniques for solving difficult problems.
The ultimate smart machine is perhaps the human like robot of science fiction stories, and the ultimate goal to create a genuinely intelligent machine. We can argue about whether such a goal is possible or even desirable. The practical work of writing smarter programs will help better understanding of our own reasoning.
AI is a fascinating subject to study as it overlaps with so many different subject areas, and not just computer science. These include psychology, philosophy and linguistics. These different subjects contribute in different ways to our understanding of how we can act and communicate intelligently and effectively. Insights from these areas help us to get computers to do tasks requiring intelligence.
We can get an insight into some of the different problem areas within AI by considering just what we, as humans, need to be able to do to act intelligently in the world. Consider a simple task like going shopping. We need to plan what to buy, how to get into town, and where to go, navigate round the crowded shops without bumping into things, interpret what we see, and communicate effectively with people we meet.
All these things we do almost automatically, yet require quite complex reasoning. These are sometimes referred to as mundane tasks and correspond to the following AI problem areas:
Planning - the ability to decide on good sequence of actions to achieve our goals.
Vision - the ability to make sense of what we see
Robotics - the ability to move and act in the world, possibly responding to new perceptions
Natural language - the ability to communicate with others in English or another human language.
