Event Moment: AIS’ Brent Wodicka on Understanding the Roots of Machine Learning

In this moment, excerpted from the session “Building AI Literacy,” Brent Wodicka, CTO, AIS, explains that AI and machine learning are not the same thing but they are deeply connected. It’s important for business leaders and AI users to understand how machine learning fits into the larger landscape to help make better decisions.

Key Takeaways

• The concept of AI: To understand the distinction, Wodicka explains that AI is a broad concept that has existed for decades. He defines the broad idea as machines performing tasks successfully that would’ve previously required human intelligence.
• Machine learning: Within the umbrella of AI, machine learning has been one of the more powerful developments. Wodicka considers this as referring to building pieces of software that don’t just follow pre-programmed or hard-coded rules to be successful; it can learn from patterns and data to execute.
• Deep learning: The wave of generative AI gave machine learning a real breakthrough in what’s now called “deep learning.” This has been at the core of generative AI and machine learning models. So, while the GenAI Revolution may seem to have just popped up in recent years, it really traces back to the roots of machine learning.