When you encounter the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning, it’s easy to use them interchangeably. However, understanding their differences is crucial for anyone interested in technology.
Artificial intelligence refers to the broader concept of machines designed to mimic human intelligence and perform tasks that typically require human cognitive abilities. These include visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. AI systems aim to perform these tasks as well as or better than humans.
Meanwhile, machine learning is a subset of AI focused on developing algorithms that allow computers to learn from and make predictions based on data. Instead of explicitly programming rules, ML systems improve their performance as they are exposed to more data over time. This is why companies like Google and Amazon rely heavily on machine learning for their recommendation systems.
Deep learning, a further specialization within machine learning, uses neural networks with many layers (hence “deep”) to analyze various factors of data. This approach has revolutionized fields like image and speech recognition.
The relationship between these concepts can be visualized as concentric circles: deep learning sits within machine learning, which itself is contained within the broader field of artificial intelligence.