The Difference Between Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Daniel Faggella

Daniel Faggella is Head of Research at Emerj. Called upon by the United Nations, World Bank, INTERPOL, and leading enterprises, Daniel is a globally sought-after expert on the competitive strategy implications of AI for business and government leaders.

The Difference Between Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Broadly, artificial intelligence involves a machine doing something that only a human would be able to do. That said, computer scientists disagree on if certain computing capabilities from several years ago still constitute AI. Nowadays, many of these capabilities might just be called software.
The modern resurgence in AI interest has been fueled by advancements in a very specific kind of computing: machine learning. We often use artificial intelligence and machine learning interchangeably here at Emerj, but many computer scientists like to separate the two. There is (and likely always will be) a debate in the field over what exactly constitutes artificial intelligence. Some computer scientists do not consider computing capabilities AI unless they involve machine learning.
These scientists may continue to shift their parameters for artificial intelligence until artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is achieved. The development of AGI—the ability for a computer to perform any intell...

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