Raven sets an alarm clock on the lab bench next to the snapshot pile.
"This rings at seven every morning," she says. "It is a computer. Does that make it AI?"
Rocket thinks it over. "It never predicts anything. It just does exactly what someone told it."
"Sky Sorter is different," Raven says. "Nobody can write an exact step for every faint, fuzzy card."
Nova blinks thoughtfully. "Then the real test is not whether there is a computer," she says. "It is what the system is built to produce."
Rocket writes two column headings on the board: Fixed Program and AI System.
A program is a set of instructions a computer follows.
A fixed program follows exact steps a person wrote out for every case. A calculator adding 7 and 5 always shows 12.
An AI system is built for objectives and produces outputs such as predictions, recommendations or decisions.
It also works with some level of autonomy, which a calculator or alarm clock does not need.
| System | What it does | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Calculator | Adds 7 and 5 and shows 12 | Fixed program: exact steps |
| Alarm clock | Rings at 7:00 every morning | Fixed program: exact steps |
| Imagined snapshot sorter | Predicts which label a new card should get | AI system: makes a prediction |
| Imagined reading helper | Recommends a book you might enjoy next | AI system: makes a recommendation |
AI systems keep representations of the world and use them to work out new information. They do not think the way a person does.
Real AI does not have feelings, moods or wishes. In our stories, Nova jokes and worries, but that is fiction.
AI systems may also be trained on data that changes over time.
That can change how well they work, sometimes in ways that are hard to understand. This is one more reason people keep checking outputs.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Every program that runs on a computer is AI. | ? |
| An alarm clock ringing at 7:00 is a fixed program. | ? |
| Real AI systems feel proud when they are right. | ? |
| Data that changes over time can change how well an AI system works. | ? |
Sharp thinking. Tomorrow you will weigh the trade-offs AI brings to everyday life.