Chapter 1. AI Is Magic
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
—Arthur C. Clarke
OK, AI is not actual magic. The truth is AI is a step above and beyond other technology to the point that it feels like magic. It’s easy enough to explain an effective sorting algorithm, but digging into intelligence itself touches the third rail and zaps us all into a whole new level of technological power. That exponential power-up is made possible through the wisdom and aptitude of TensorFlow.js.
For more than half a century scientists and engineers have re-created the metaphorical wheel in AI and fine-tuned the mechanics that control it. When we dig into AI in this book, we’ll grasp those concepts with the flexible yet durable framework of TensorFlow.js and, with it, bring our ideas to fruition in the expanding domain of JavaScript. Yes, JavaScript, the world’s most popular programming language.1
The concepts and definitions provided here will equip you with tech-ray vision. You’ll cut through acronyms and buzzwords to see and understand the AI infrastructure that’s been emerging in every field around us. AI and machine learning concepts will become clear, and the definitions from this chapter can serve as a reference for identifying core principles that will fuel our academic blastoff into TensorFlow.js illumination.
We will:
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Clarify the domain of AI and intelligence
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Discuss the types of machine learning
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Review and define common terminology
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Cross-examine ...