What is AI?

In this episode, hosts Lois Houston and Nikita Abraham, together with Senior Cloud Engineer Nick Commisso, break down the basics of artificial intelligence (AI). They discuss the differences between Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), and explore the concepts of machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI. Nick also shares examples of how AI is used in everyday life, from navigation apps to spam filters, and explains how AI can help businesses cut costs and boost revenue. AI for You: https://mylearn.oracle.com/ou/course/ai-for-you/152601/252500 Oracle University Learning Community: https://education.oracle.com/ou-community LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/oracle-university/ X: https://x.com/Oracle_Edu Special thanks to Arijit Ghosh, David Wright, Kris-Ann Nansen, Radhika Banka, and the OU Studio Team for helping us create this episode. ----------------------------------------------------------- Episode Transcript: 00:00 Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast, the first stop on your cloud journey. During this series of informative podcasts, we’ll bring you foundational training on the most popular Oracle technologies. Let’s get started! 00:25 Nikita: Hello and welcome to the Oracle University Podcast. I’m Nikita Abraham, Team Lead of Editorial Services with Oracle University, and with me is Lois Houston, Director of Innovation Programs. Lois: Hi everyone! Welcome to a new season of the podcast. I’m so excited about this one because we’re going to dive into the world of artificial intelligence, speaking to many experts in the field. Nikita: If you've been listening to us for a while, you probably know we’ve covered AI from a bunch of different angles. But this time, we’re dialing it all the way back to basics. We wanted to create something for the absolute beginner, so no jargon, no assumptions, just simple conversations that anyone can follow. 01:08 Lois: That’s right, Niki. You don’t need to have a technical background or prior experience with AI to get the most out of these episodes. In our upcoming conversations, we’ll break down the basics of AI, explore how it's shaping the world around us, and understand its impact on your business. Nikita: The idea is to give you a practical understanding of AI that you can use in your work, especially if you’re in sales, marketing, operations, HR, or even customer service. 01:37 Lois: Today, we’ll talk about the basics of AI with Senior Cloud Engineer Nick Commisso. Hi Nick! Welcome back to the podcast. Can you tell us about human intelligence and how it relates to artificial intelligence? And within AI, I know we have Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI, and Artificial Narrow Intelligence, or ANI. What’s the difference between the two? Nick: Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans that allow us to learn new skills through observation and mental digestion, to think through and understand abstract concepts and apply reasoning, to communicate using language and understand non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, tone variation, body language. We can handle objections and situations in real time, even in a complex setting. We can plan for short and long-term situations or projects. And we can create music, art, or invent something new or have original ideas. If machines can replicate a wide range of human cognitive abilities, such as learning, reasoning, or problem solving, we call it artificial general intelligence. Now, AGI is hypothetical for now, but when we apply AI to solve problems with specific, narrow objectives, we call it artificial narrow intelligence, or ANI. AGI is a hypothetical AI that thinks like a human. It represents the ultimate goal of artificial intelligence, which is a system capable of chatting, learning, and even arguing like us. If AGI existed, it would take the form like a robot doctor that accurately diagnoses and comforts patients, or an AI teacher that customizes lessons in real time based on each student's mood, pace, and learning style, or an AI therapist that comprehends complex emotions and provides empathetic, personalized support. ANI, on the other hand, focuses on doing one thing really well. It's designed to perform specific tasks by recognizing patterns and following rules, but it doesn't truly understand or think beyond its narrow scope. Think of ANI as a specialist. Your phone's face ID can recognize you instantly, but it can't carry on a conversation. Google Maps finds the best route, but it can't write you a poem. And spam filters catch junk mail, but it can't make you coffee. So, most of the AI you interact with today is ANI. It's smart, efficient, and practical, but limited to specific functions without general reasoning or creativity. 04:22 Nikita: Ok then what about Generative AI? Nick: Generative AI is a type of AI that can produce content such as audio, text, code, video, and ...