AI EncyclopediaFirst steps1/5
First steps in AI
A guide for complete beginners
AI is technology that learns rules on its own from huge amounts of data, then understands and creates text, images and speech.
Why everyone is talking about it
Older programs needed people to write every rule by hand. Today's AI looks at enormous amounts of text and images and picks up the rules itself. It can answer questions, write, draw pictures and even write programs.
That is quickly changing how people do work like search, document writing, customer support and coding. The big trend now goes beyond asking once and getting one answer: it is the "AI agent", which uses tools to take on a task with many steps and finish it.
The big picture
- DataCollect a huge amount of material to learn from, such as books, web pages, code and images.
- TrainingFind the rules in the data and adjust the numbers inside the model. This step takes the most chips and time.
- ModelThe result that holds what was learned. It sits inside every chat AI service.
- InferenceWhen you ask a question, the model builds an answer from what it learned. This happens every time you use AI.
- Services and agentsModels are built into chat apps, search and work tools. Some also use tools to do tasks with many steps.
How an AI gets made and used, shortened to five steps.
Six ideas to know
Read them in this order and the news gets much easier. Each one opens its encyclopedia entry.
- Generative AIAI that creates new things, such as text, images, music, video and code.
- LLM (large language model)An AI that has read a huge amount of text and learned to continue it by writing the next words.
- Training and inferenceTraining is when an AI learns from data. Inference is when the trained AI actually produces answers.
- PromptThe request or instruction you give to an AI.
- HallucinationWhen an AI states something untrue as if it were fact, with full confidence.
- AI agentAn AI that, given a goal, makes its own plan and uses tools to finish a job with many steps.
Common misunderstandings
MythAI looks up facts and gives you the answer.
In fact A chat AI works by writing the most plausible next words, so it can make up things it does not know and sound sure. Always check numbers, quotes, legal points and health information against the original source.
MythThe bigger and newer the model, the better.
In fact Different jobs need different models. For many tasks a small, fast, cheap model does better, and test scores can feel different from real use.
MythAI will soon do all of people's work.
In fact Today's AI is clearly good at some things and bad at others. The safest way to use it is to split a job into small pieces, hand them over, and have a person check the results.
Who to watch now
Products with the highest LastAI Index
- 1ChatGPTIndex 100
- 2GeminiIndex 87
- 3CanvaIndex 80
- 4AI GalleryIndex 77
- 5DeepSeekIndex 74
The LastAI Index measures how widely something is used and known, from public data. It is recalculated every 15 minutes and is not a measure of quality or investment value. See the full ranking
Follow on the tech radar
News about each technology, company or person, in date order.
Recent milestones
The three latest events from the timeline. The timeline shows how the field got here.
Where to go next
- AI recipesFollow along to link several AI tools together and make one finished piece of work.
- Usage rankingsSee in numbers which AI models and apps people really use.
- Read more AI conceptsRead in order, from the basics to how to use AI, plus safety and rules.
- AI newsGet today's AI news in easy summaries.
This guide was written by AI and checked again for accuracy before publishing, and the English edition is translated from the Korean guide. Rankings change quickly, so they are not written into the text; 'Who to watch now' shows the LastAI Index as it is. Tell us if something is wrong. Report an errorLast updated