When people get excited about AI, it is generative AI specifically that sets the pulse racing.

Q Start with the basics... what is artificial intelligence (AI)?

It is the ability of machines to ‘think’ or perform functions, like humans, but it comes in different shapes and sizes.

Q So AI is not all the same beast then?

It is not. Machine-learning algorithms use existing data to learn how to do a task, and gradually get better at it as time goes on – the more data, and the better that data, the better the result. Generative AI (GenAI) uses more sophisticated large language models (LLMs), based on the way neurons work in the human brain. They can learn more from bigger data sources and, dare I say it, have more ‘creative’ outputs.

Q AI can be creative?

Maybe it appears creative because it can come up with so many potential solutions, many of which a single engineer might not think about when they are trying to design something, but every solution is only based on the parameters the user puts...