Artificial intelligence (AI) is a single system or collection of computer systems that can process information and perform tasks normally done by humans.

AI can have simple forms of intelligence, such as recognizing speech or analyzing visual patterns in images. Or it can be more complex, such as learning from past mistakes and problem solving.

To understand what AI means, think about what you see in nature that makes you believe something has intelligence. Something as simple as a lab rat learning the right path through a maze represents a simple form of intelligence (there are four types of AI). It involves memory and learning, similar to human intelligence.

In 1950, Alan Turing, famous for his experiment to determine whether a computer possessed AI, described "thinking machines" as recognizable because they could use their minds to solve puzzles. In the 1950s, John McCarthy said that computers could "do things which, if done by human beings, would require intelligence."