While not always obvious, artificial intelligence has been a fixture of day-to-day life for millions of people for years. Virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa are prime examples of how AI can support humans in a variety of ways – if only by making things more convenient.  

Yet when generative AI like ChatGPT burst onto the scene, its uncanny ability to mimic human response and ready availability to everyone with a computer suddenly pushed discussions about machine learning and ethics into the public sphere. Concepts like deep learning, NLP and neural networks have seeped into everyday professional and even personal conversation. 

For those unfamiliar with computer science, it can be overwhelming to try and grasp the many facets of artificial intelligence and their implications. Here, we break down what artificial intelligence is, how it works, the difference between machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and more. Let’s dive in.