Editor's note
While AI technologies can do things humans can't, they're currently limited to specific and straightforward tasks -- a state known as narrow AI. A big goal -- or holy grail -- for developers is to create human-like AI tools that think the way people do.
Estimates of how long it will take to make so-called general AI a reality range from a few years to more than a century. Much work lies ahead. "We will not get there using the techniques we have today," Raj Minhas, head of the AI research lab at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, told TechTarget contributor Maria Korolov.
This guide compiles stories on the push toward human-like AI and the challenges that AI vendors and users must overcome.
1Eyeing general AI tools and applications
General AI goes by several other names: general-purpose AI, strong AI, artificial general intelligence. The different terms all refer to efforts to apply human-like intellectual capabilities and thought patterns to AI tools to make them useful in a wider range of applications. The stories in this section look at how general AI could expand the technology's use.
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Common sense AI approaches point to more general applications
The race to attain artificial general intelligence is on. Ranging from predictions of 10 to 200 years away, the one thing experts can agree on is that common sense AI is the next step in the journey. Read Now
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Artificial intelligence creativity tools mimic human ability
Computational creativity seeks to understand and reproduce facets of human creativity. From songwriting to image creation, artificial intelligence creativity tools are on the rise. Read Now
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More curiosity could help narrow AI tools handle broader uses
Today, engineers are developing AI tools primarily for individual applications, but programming a facsimile of curiosity into algorithms could help make them more general purpose. Read Now
2New technologies hold general AI promise
Human-like AI functionality isn't being developed in a vacuum. Emerging analytics technologies incorporate features that take some initial steps toward general AI, with expectations of expanded capabilities in the future. The items included in this section examine how technical advances in areas like deep learning and quantum computing could aid general AI efforts.
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Researchers race for quantum AI as quantum computing advances
Machine learning is likely to be an early application of quantum computers, as researchers and developers look for the key to a more human-like artificial intelligence. Read Now
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Augmented intelligence: The clearest path to focused AI?
Augmented intelligence assists humans in completing tasks that artificial intelligence can't yet handle. CIOs should invest in augmented tech as a step toward AI adoption. Read Now
3Hurdles on the road to human-like AI
For now, general AI lives in the future. The current technical limitations of AI tools restrict their uses and often require oversight from human workers to check the output of AI algorithms for accuracy and relevancy. This section features articles on the technology barriers that developers face as they look to move from narrow to general AI.
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Limits of AI today push general-purpose tools to the horizon
The future of AI should be focused on more general-purpose tools, but developers have a long way to go before achieving the kind of AI movies taught us to expect. Read Now
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Humans and AI tools go hand in hand in analytics applications
Companies are keeping data analysts and other workers in the loop with AI applications to check the results generated by automated algorithms for accuracy, relevance and missing info. Read Now