Learn PromptingIntroduction to AI
Introduction
In this document, we briefly introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its known as Generative AI.
You’ll learn about:
- What is AI?
- How AI Learns
- What is Generative AI?
- Examples of Generative AI
- How Do I Get Started with Generative AI?
What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all about making machines smarter — giving them the ability to perform tasks that usually need human intelligence. These tasks could be anything from recognizing faces in photos and understanding speech to recommending products and even playing chess at a level that no human can match. In simple terms, AI allows machines to "think" and learn from data to solve problems and make decisions .
You likely interact with AI daily without realizing it. For example, voice assistants like Siri or Alexa use AI to understand and respond to your questions—whether you're asking for the weather or setting an alarm. Netflix’s recommendation system is another example, learning what you like to watch and suggesting new shows or movies based on your viewing history.
How AI Learns
AI learns from data, much like how humans learn from experience. For instance, to train an AI to recognize cats in photos, you would provide thousands of cat images. Over time, the AI learns what makes a cat—a process that improves as it gets more data.
In this guide, however, we are focusing on a special kind of AI called Generative AI.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI is a type of AI designed to create new content. Unlike traditional AI, which processes data or makes decisions, Generative AI can actually generate things that didn’t exist before — a job previously reserved for humans.
For example, GenAI can handle creative tasks like:
- Writing essays and articles
- Crafting emails
- Creating artwork or illustrations (and even winning art competitions)
- Solving complex math problems
- Generating code for software
Check out more GenAI use cases.
Examples of Generative AI
Here are a few popular Generative AI tools you might have heard of:
- ChatGPT: A large language model (LLM) that can generate text, answer questions, and even have conversations.
- DALL-E: A Generative AI that creates images from text descriptions. Want to see “a cat in a space suit”? DALL-E will generate a unique image based on that exact prompt.
- MidJourney: Another text-to-image tool known for creating highly detailed and creative artwork.
How Do I Get Started with Generative AI?
This guide will walk you through the basics of Generative AI, from prompting strategies to the most popular tools. Whether you want to integrate AI into your daily life or just experiment with it, this is the place to start. You can also take our free course that will walk you throught the fundamentals of LLMs like ChatGPT and their real-life applications.
Valeriia Kuka
Valeriia Kuka, Head of Content at Learn Prompting, is passionate about making AI and ML accessible. Valeriia previously grew a 60K+ follower AI-focused social media account, earning reposts from Stanford NLP, Amazon Research, Hugging Face, and AI researchers. She has also worked with AI/ML newsletters and global communities with 100K+ members and authored clear and concise explainers and historical articles.