artificial intelligence

noun

1

: the capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior

… helped pioneer the idea that computers can exhibit artificial intelligence that mirrors human thinking.

—Richard Sandomir

A Monmouth University poll … found that only 9 percent of Americans believed that computers with artificial intelligence would do more good than harm to society.

—Shira Ovide

Artificial intelligence applications are already used behind the scenes in hospitals to automate workforce tasks, improve patient flow, for operating room scheduling and elsewhere to improve efficiency.

—Liz Freeman

also, plural artificial intelligences : a computer, computer system, or set of algorithms having this capability

Someday, our artificial intelligences will be capable enough to pass for human.

—Benjamin C. Kinney

… they are now eager to create artificial intelligences that can mediate human life at every level.

—Edward Ongweso Jr.

see also generative artificial intelligence

2

: a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent human behavior by computers

The school of computer science offers … undergraduate degrees in artificial intelligence.

—Evan Robinson-Johnson

He is looking to study computer science focusing on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

—Joe McHugh

Examples of artificial intelligence in a Sentence

a robot with artificial intelligence

Recent Examples on the Web

As we’re mesmerized by artificial intelligence today, going back to Lem’s stories, which anticipated every kind of intelligent machine, is a must. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025

At the beginning of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced a partnership with Google DeepMind, Google's artificial intelligence research lab, to test its newest AI weather model as part of the center's forecasting workflow for tropical cyclones. —ABC News, 6 Dec. 2025

The team also made use of artificial intelligence (AI) neural networks to track individual atoms. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 Dec. 2025

Although the artificial intelligence boom has pushed several tech companies into record surges, cloud software firms have seen a rocky year as investors wonder whether AI will render the industry obsolete. —Jaures Yip, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for artificial intelligence

• counterintelligence

Kids Definition

artificial intelligence

noun

: the power of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior