Debate on Artificial Intelligence

There is no single, universally-agreed definition of artificial intelligence (AI). It can broadly be thought of as technologies that enable computers to simulate elements of human intelligence, such as perception, learning and reasoning. To achieve this, AI systems rely upon large data sets from which they can decipher patterns and correlations, thereby enabling the system to ‘learn’ how to anticipate future events. It does this by relying upon/creating rules – algorithms – based on the dataset, which it can use to interpret new data.

The debate pack provides further information on different types of AI, where it is being used, concerns that have been raised about its application, as well as Government policy in this area.