Artificial Intelligence did not begin with modern computers. Discover how the idea of intelligent machines evolved from ancient myths and mechanical inventions to the historic Dartmouth Workshop of 1956. Learn the fascinating story behind the Birth of Artificial Intelligence in simple, beginner-friendly language.

What Is Artificial Intelligence? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. Instead of simply following fixed instructions, AI systems can learn from data, recognize patterns, understand language, solve problems, and assist with decision-making. At its core, AI represents human intelligence captured, coded, and carried forward by machines.

AI does not search your phone, computer, or personal files every time you ask a question. Instead, AI has already been trained on large collections of publicly available information, licensed material, and educational content. During this training process, AI learns patterns in language rather than memorizing conversations or understanding ideas like humans do.

AI bias happens when a system consistently favours certain groups or outcomes — not because it was programmed to, but because it learned from data that was never perfectly fair. No AI system is considered fully neutral yet. Here's what that means for you