An Introduction to Generative AI

Generative artificial intelligence, also known as generative AI and GenAI, refers to a category of AI systems that use machine learning models to create new, original content rather than simply analyze existing datasets. Unlike most AI, which focuses on pattern recognition in data to optimize decision-making or predictions, generative AI can synthesize completely new data that has never been seen before by the system. At a basic level, generative AI systems work by learning the underlying patterns and structures within a certain domain of data—whether it be text, images, audio, video, or something else. By analyzing thousands or millions of examples, the AI develops an implicit understanding of what plausible new outputs in that domain could be. It learns features and rules inherent within the data that allow it to emulate and build off what it has seen, going beyond those finite examples. Figure 1-1 demonstrates the hierarchy of artificial intelligence fields.