Welcome to this Zayed University Library guide, designed to assist you on your path through the realm of Artificial Intelligence. At the Zayed University Library, we acknowledge the profound influence AI exerts across various disciplines, as well as its impact on teaching, learning, and research endeavors. Our aim is to provide comprehensive support throughout your AI-related ventures.
This guide contains background information on AI, how to get started in using various AI tools, instructions on how to use AI for various purposes, discussions regarding the ethics of AI, guidance in creating citations and using AI ethically for your research, AI for more accessibility, information on the Library chatbot "Aisha", information regarding the UAE's National AI Strategy, ZU's policies and procedures for academic integrity when using AI tools, and additional resources on AI, within the Library's collections and beyond.
Defining Artificial Intelligence can be a challenging task, as researchers within this field often hold diverse perspectives regarding its criteria and qualifications. At its simplest, AI is:
"The capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or simulate intelligent behaviour"
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2021).
Some definitions go a step further: according to UNESCO, machines based on AI "are potentially capable of imitating or even exceeding human cognitive capacities, including sensing, language interaction, reasoning and analysis, problem solving, and even creativity." (UNESCO, 2019).
You can read more about the History and Key Concepts of AI in this guide. Here is another useful guide that provides key terms and definitions for AI related concepts.
Artificial Intelligence is often categorized into two main types:
Weak or Narrow AI: Designed for specific tasks. Narrow AI performs well within their specified areas but these abilities cannot be applied to other tasks. Examples of narrow AI include virtual assistants, recommendation systems, and text generators like ChatGPT. While these systems showcase impressive task-specific performance, they still lack the broad cognitive abilities of human intelligence. In other words, they don't understand, think and learn like humans do.
Strong AI (Artificial General Intelligence - AGI): A popular topic in science fiction, AGI is still a largely theoretical form of AI that aims to replicate human cognitive abilities across diverse tasks. Achieving AGI remains a complex challenge, with ongoing research to emulate comprehensive human-like intelligence. Unlike Narrow AI systems, which are designed for specific tasks, AGI would possess the ability to understand, learn, and adapt across a wide range of tasks and domains. Although generative AI services like ChatGPT may appear sophisticated and intelligent, it's important to note that they are not true AGI systems.