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How Do AI Algorithms Work?

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In this article, we will address the question How do AI algorithms work?

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming into your life in ways that might be hard to imagine now. It’s the reason why you can ask Google Maps when it's quicker to take a road or train from A to B and get a response in seconds rather than opening a map and waiting for an update. It’s the reason why your smartphone can recognize which face you’re trying to unlock so quickly, and why companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple are using AI as the backbone of their search engines and advertising platforms. AI algorithms work by taking data, processing it in some way, and then coming up with an answer or solution. This explanation will give you an idea of how AI algorithms work so that you can understand how they might affect your life and job in the future.

What is AI?

AI is the ability of computer systems to “think” like humans. A computer with AI can read and interpret information; it can also generate information to solve problems. AI can be used to help with everything from image recognition in image search, to self-driving cars, to making new drugs that can target certain diseases.

How Do AI Algorithms Work?

Algorithms in artificial intelligence (AI) work by taking input data, processing it, and then generating an answer or solution. For example, let’s say you’re a company that sells jackets. You’re trying to figure out how to get people to buy more jackets. With AI, you can take all the jacket-purchasing data from your clients, and then build some algorithms that help you understand what factors contribute to decisions about buying a jacket. One algorithm might use this data to figure out how much a jacket costs per person, so that you can figure out how to price your jackets so that you don’t lose too many customers. Another algorithm can use the data to determine what colors and styles work best for your audience.

How to Build an AI Algorithm?

AI algorithms can be developed by teams of software engineers and computer scientists. In many cases, though, organizations will turn to an AI company that specializes in building these types of algorithms. The company will take your data and build an AI algorithm around it. Since AI algorithms are so specific to a client’s data, it’s usually only possible to work with a handful of companies on a single project.

Types of AI Algorithms

Supervised learning - In supervised learning, the inputs are labeled with specific values. For example, if you put a photo of a jacket in front of an AI system, it could know that the photo is of a jacket because you’ve tagged it as such, or because someone previously tagged the photo. With supervised learning, the AI system learns what the “correct” values are for these inputs and how to predict the outputs.
Unsupervised learning - In unsupervised learning, AI looks at the data without specific values or labels. For example, if you have a ton of data about people that you don’t know what to do with, you can feed the AI system the data and let it come up with new insights.
Reinforcement learning - This is a type of deep learning usually used in robotics. With reinforcement learning, AI learns by trial and error. If a robotic system has a certain set of actions that lead to a certain desired outcome, AI can teach the system to find different actions that lead to different desired outcomes.

Final Words

This article was meant to be an introduction to AI algorithms. You don’t have to understand how each part of an algorithm works in order to understand the impact AI will have on your life and job. Understanding the basics of how AI works is the first step in figuring out how AI is changing the way your organization does work and how you do work. We’re excited about the future of AI and what it can do for your organization. Stay ahead of the curve by learning what AI is and how to build an algorithm.