HBR Guide to AI Basics for Managers

Glossary of Key AI Terms

Algorithm. A sequence of instructions used to solve a problem, reach an outcome, or perform a computation. An algorithm can be simple, such as the recipe to bake a cake, or extremely complex, such as those that power internet search engines or self-driving cars. Algorithms may require human intervention to improve, or they may be machine learning algorithms that improve over time when they are trained with new data.

Analytics. The systematic computational analysis of data or statistics, used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns. Organizations may apply analytics to data to describe, predict, and improve performance. As analytics capabilities progress in an organization, they may ...