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in 1950, this is one of Britain's earliest stored program computers and the oldest complete general purpose electronic computer in Britain. Designed and built at the National Physical Laboratory, Middlesex in 1949-1950, it was based on plans for a larger computer (the ACE) designed by the mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) at NPL between 1945 and 1947. Previously Turing worked on the Colossus computer used in codebreaking at Bletchley Park during World War II. Pilot ACE was estimated to have cost 50,000 to design and build, but by 1954 had earned over 240,000 from advanced scientific and engineering work in various fields including crystallography, aeronautics and computing bomb trajectories. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)SSPL via Getty Images

For the past year, I have been working on a technology company focused in the AI (artificial intelligence) space. The only thing constant about AI is its rapid pace of change. Chat GPT, which was most consumers introduction to AI, just turned one year old, and since then, the feverish pace at which AI has moved, board drama and all, has been incredible.

But what about the basics? What should you know as a business person, or a casual follower of AI to catch you up on what you need to know? I've compiled a primer aimed at guiding you back to the foundational elements of AI, so you can be conversant and knowledgeable on the fundamentals. In future parts of this series, Ill be addressing practical use cases of AI and companies you should follow.

A previous Forbes contributor put a similar guide together 6 years ago. However, considering the dramatic advancements since then, an updated version seemed not just appropriate, but necessary.

Glossary Of Terms

I wanted to first start off with a key set of terms that you should know in order to understand what artificial intelligence is, including AI itself. Of course many define these terms differently, so I recommend you do your own research and deeper dives on the subject. But to start with, I recommend you know the following:

What Are The Core Technologies Powering AI?

So you want to start an AI company, and dont know the different areas that need support? Or you are seeking investment ideas for potential companies to target? There are different areas of AI that present opportunities for investment, pathways for employment, or avenues for further education and understanding.

Finally, large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 have emerged as a key component powering conversational AI. LLMs provide the underlying language capabilities leveraged by chatbots and voice assistants.

Further Reading

If you really want to get into the guts of how AI functions, consider exploring these detailed technical papers. These selections not only serve as excellent entry points but are also widely recognized as pivotal contributions to the field. However, bear in mind, this list is not exhaustive:

For a frequently updated, high-level perspective on AI, I recommend Rowan Cheungs newsletter The Rundown.

I will be adding to this series frequently, so please stay tuned.

I am the Founder of Hamlet - a technology company focused on using artificial intelligence to summarize public information. Hamlets goal is to make local government easy to understand.

Prior to Hamlet, I Co-Founded Scripted.com - a marketplace for businesses to hire freelance writers. Scripted was backed by Redpoint Ventures and Crosslink Capital (raised ~$20M of capital and was eventually sold). I ran a local publication in San Francisco called The Bold Italic, which I sold to Medium in 2019.

Ive been a marketing executive at Metromile - where I was CMO, and GoodRx, where I was VP of Marketing. I ran one of the top 200 podcasts (called This is Your life in Silicon valley) in the US and my writing has generated 10s of millions of pageviews. I live in the Bay Area where I mostly grew up, but went to high school in Cleveland (diehard Cleveland sports fan).

Read this article:

Navigating The AI Landscape: Part 1 - Forbes