**Artificial intelligence** (**AI**) is the [[Intelligence|intelligence]] of machines or [[Software|software]], as opposed to the intelligence of living beings, primarily humans. It is a field of study in [[Computer science|computer science]] that develops and studies intelligent machines. Such machines may be called AIs. AI technology is widely used throughout industry, government, and science, with applications including [[Web search engine|web search]], [[Recommender system|recommendation systems]], [[Speech recognition|speech recognition]], [[Autonomous car|self-driving vehicles]], [[Generative artificial intelligence|generative tools]], and strategic game systems such as [[Computer chess|chess]] and [[Go (game)|Go]]. The field was founded as an academic discipline in 1956 at a workshop at [[Dartmouth College]], where the term "artificial intelligence" was coined. Early AI research focused on [[Symbolic artificial intelligence|symbolic approaches]] and [[Problem solving|problem-solving]], including [[Expert system|expert systems]] that encoded human knowledge as rules. The field experienced cycles of optimism followed by disappointment and reduced funding, periods known as [[AI winter|AI winters]]. Beginning in the 2010s, advances in [[Deep learning|deep learning]], increased [[Computing power|computational power]], and access to large datasets led to rapid progress that brought AI into mainstream use. [[Large language model|Large language models]] such as [[GPT-4]] and [[Claude (language model)|Claude]], [[Image generation|image generators]], and other [[Foundation model|foundation models]] have driven significant public and commercial interest since the early 2020s. AI research encompasses numerous subfields, including [[Machine learning|machine learning]], [[Computer vision|computer vision]], [[Natural language processing|natural language processing]], [[Robotics|robotics]], and [[Automated reasoning|automated reasoning]]. Machine learning, which enables systems to learn from data rather than explicit programming, has become the dominant paradigm, with [[Neural network|neural networks]] and deep learning achieving notable success across many domains. The pursuit of [[Artificial general intelligence|artificial general intelligence]] (AGI)—AI with broad, human-level cognitive abilities—remains a long-term goal for some researchers. The rapid advancement of AI has raised significant societal, ethical, and [[Existential risk from artificial general intelligence|existential concerns]]. These include questions about [[Algorithmic bias|bias]] and fairness, [[Technological unemployment|labor displacement]], [[Privacy|privacy]], [[Misinformation|misinformation]], [[AI safety|safety]], and the long-term risks associated with increasingly powerful systems. [[AI alignment|Alignment research]] seeks to ensure that AI systems act in accordance with human values and intentions. Governments and organizations worldwide are developing [[Regulation of artificial intelligence|regulatory frameworks]] to address these challenges, and debate continues over how to balance AI's potential benefits against its risks.