Artificial intelligence: learning from examples
Artificial intelligence, or AI, means a computer can learn from examples. A child learns what a cat is by seeing many cats. An AI program also studies many examples, finds a pattern, and then makes a guess about something new. Your phone guesses the next word you will type because it has studied many sentences. A phone can unlock when it recognises your face. AI may help people of determination: a voice helper can read a message aloud, and a camera program might change sign language into speech. But AI is not magic. If its examples are poor, its guesses are poor. The three technologies can work together: a VR guide could use AI to answer your questions, and an AR app could use AI to recognise a plant. New technology also needs new jobs: people who design 3-D worlds, test the tools, and teach programs with good examples.
| Virtual reality (VR) | Augmented reality (AR) | Artificial intelligence (AI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | a made-up 3-D world you step into | computer pictures added over the real view | a computer that learns from examples |
| Do you still see the real room? | no | yes | not about seeing: it is about thinking |
| What helps it work | a headset | a camera and a screen | many examples and a program |
| Example | a visit to a far-away museum | a dinosaur standing in the yard on the screen | a phone that guesses your next word |
Dream improvement table. Draw a table with five jobs you do every day (for example waking up on time, walking to school, doing homework). For each one write how AI, AR or VR might make it better. Be careful: do not copy a real product; invent your own.