The map of AI
Understand the wider disciplines, the sub-fields and how they connect.
The chapter at a glance
Wider sciences: computer science • mathematics • statistics • philosophy
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Methods: rules • learning • search • planning
Abilities: language • vision • speech • generation • action
Uses: school • healthcare • media • work
Across everything: law • ethics • economics • environment
In this chapter
- 1The big map of AI: fields and sub-fieldsAI sits where several sciences meet. Its sub-fields overlap and do not fit into one neat tree.
- 2Computer science, mathematics and statisticsThree key foundations of AI: the computer runs it, mathematics describes it, statistics measures the uncertainty.
- 3Mind, brain and philosophyAI takes some inspiration from humans, but a computer model is not the same as a human brain.
- 4A short history of AIThe history of AI is a history of different approaches, not just a string of chatbots.
- 5Systems, control and decision-makingAI is also linked to systems theory, which studies how things change and how we can steer them.
- 6People, computers and societyWhat AI can do is not enough. What matters is how people understand it and use it.
- 7Information, communication and AIAI is closely tied to questions about how much information data contains and how we transmit it.
- 8The AI atlas: fields and sub-fieldsAn expanded concept map of all the main layers of AI and its neighbouring disciplines.