The exciting young field of computer science has developed in ways that largely reflect the futuristic representations seen in our favorite science fiction films, books, and TV shows. One popular occurrence in this media is the idea of a computer that can think on its own and navigate the world like another living being. Even though computer scientists aren’t quite there yet, advancements in the so-called “artificial intelligence” of the computers around us have been one of the main developments of the last decade. Today, I hope to explain some of the ways that we see this technology appear in our devices and what this means for our ability to use them.

Artificial intelligence is just the creation of independent problem-solving computers that can perform “intelligent behavior,” or solve problems on their own. Machine learning is when information is provided to a machine that tries over and over again to simulate random inputs in the hope of achieving a desired output. An example of this would be if you tried to teach an AI to play Snake. By trying random inputs, the computer will eventually learn the clues behind the program that lead to higher scores (collecting the collectible objects) and will devise a plan to do so.

Now that I have given you some background, I can show you how software uses AI/ML to help us use our devices. Imagine you are scrolling through any social media. The algorithm (set of instructions) used by the platform will show you new content over time. As this occurs, the platform saves the type of content you interact most with and uses this to show you similar content over time. For every new type of content you enjoy, the algorithm expands the range of topics shown to you.

Now I hope to explain how modern hardware (the physical parts of the computer) is affected by this new technology. As you can imagine, running even simple programs like Snake thousands if not millions of times to create an algorithm can take massive amounts of time and energy from our computers. In response to this, newer devices aimed at machine learning applications use AI accelerators, which are any pieces of hardware that speed up the machine learning process. It is becoming increasingly common for neural processing units (chips that assist in machine learning) to be found in laptops and desktops alike.

I hope this article has given you a better understanding of artificial intelligence, the processes behind it, and the impact it has on our lives. By continuing to develop these technologies, we can create more efficient and usable programs to fit the needs of people all across the world.