AI

Initialism for artificial intelligence. Coined by computer scientist John McCarthy for the 1956 Dartmouth conference — the founding event of the field. Artificial from Latin artificialis — made by art. Intelligence from Latin intelligere — to understand.

Used for decades in academic computer science before entering mainstream usage around 2022 with large language models. The term is contested — some researchers prefer 'machine learning' as more accurate. Marketing has flattened the distinctions; nearly any statistical software is now called AI.