This episode is about giving you a clear, simple definition of a word that gets thrown around constantly: AI. You’re hearing it in every commercial, on every app, and in every new feature rollout. But what is it, really? I share a plain-language definition — “software that can guess” — contrast everyday examples of AI with simple automation, and give quick context on where the term came from, how regulating agencies define it, what is meant by “agents” and “AGI”, and how close we realistically are to what Terminator predicted. (Spoiler, not close at all.)

Main Topics Covered

• Creating informed consumers
• “AI is…” exercise
• A colloquial, plain-language definition for AI
• Things That Are AI vs Things That Are NOT AI
• AI as a kitchen sink marketing term
• AI origin story: John McCarthy + the Dartmouth proposal
• Official definitions from OECD and NIST
• Understanding autonomy and “AI agents”
• The forecast on AGI: artificial general intelligence
• How I used ChatGPT this week: bulkhead light and bulb hunt

Links & Resources for This Episode

• Listen to Ep 1: Everything You Actually Need to Know About ChatGPT
• Listen to Ep 4: Overhyped or Underestimated: Is ChatGPT Coming for Your Job?
• Read the proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
• Read this episode's Curious Companion
• Subscribe to the Prompting Curiosity Newsletter
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website
• Feeling curious AND generous?  Click here to support the podcast.