There is no doubt that in today’s world we are being told that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the driving force behind technical innovation. The concept is pushed hard in advertising, with everything from mobile phones and computers to business systems and cars, all claiming to use AI as a means of enhancing the user experience: but what exactly is AI?

The first thing to say is that AI isn’t new, it has been around as a concept for a very long time. Alan Turing, he of Enigma code breaking fame, first posed the question as to whether machines are capable of learning and making decisions. This has been a subject that has exercised minds since the 1950’s and while it fell into the background for a number of years it has moved to the forefront of technical thinking and innovation over the past 10 to 15 years. As computers have become more powerful and the sophistication of algorithms more refined, there is little question that AI will be a dominant force in the development of technology, and while the ethics are debated, its application will have a profound impact on all of our lives. AI is about the ability of computers to replicate human thinking and intelligence.