AI agents: (in computing) Artificial intelligence systems that have been created to act on their own with no human help, or almost no help. They can set goals to act upon, plan a sequence of events to achieve some goal (or directive), use web browsers, code, or other tools to make decisions (based on feedback) so that they can eventually accomplish tasks. Unlike chatbot that responds to discrete prompts to do some action (usually text-based), AI agents can be given a broad task and be asked to figure out how to accomplish it and then do it. Agents can figure out the steps needed to achieve some goal and then perform them.
AI model: Short for artificial-intelligence model, it’s a particularly smart computer algorithm. Simple types of these models choose from a set of pre-selected to answer a user’s requests (perhaps to respond to a chat). More complex models may train on mountains of data to essentially figure out their own answers to potentially novel questions.
alien: A non-native organism. (in astronomy) Life on or from a distant world.
average: (in science) A term for the arithmetic mean, which is the sum of a group of numbers that is then divided by the size of the group.
behavior: The way something (often a person or other organism) conducts itself or acts towards others.
chatbot: A type of computer program known as a bot (web robot) that has been created to interact with people in a way that seems to model normal human conversation. The idea is that if they seem human-like enough, people should be more willing to “chat” with these computer programs or let them take on tasks previously handled only by people. Some chatbots can craft customized text, such as a letter or report. Others might ask or share information (by phone or online) on a company’s behalf. One drawback: They are susceptible to hallucinating — as in making up their answers — or telling people what the chatbot’s artificial-intelligence model thinks they want (even if this is not objectively healthy or true).
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds.
chemistry: The field of science that deals with the composition, structure and properties of substances and how they interact. Scientists use this knowledge to study unfamiliar substances, to reproduce large quantities of useful substances or to design and create new and useful substances.
component: Something that is part of something else (such as pieces that go on an electronic circuit board or ingredients that go into a cookie recipe).
computer science: The scientific study of the principles and use of computers. Scientists who work in this field are known as computer scientists.
digital: (in computer science and engineering) An adjective indicating that something has been developed numerically on a computer or on some other electronic device, based on a binary system (where all numbers are displayed using a series of only zeros and ones).
equation: In mathematics, the statement that two quantities are equal. In geometry, equations are often used to determine the shape of a curve or surface.
error: (In statistics) The non-deterministic (random) part of the relationship between two or more variables.
force: Some outside influence that can change the motion of an object, hold objects close to one another, or produce motion or stress in a stationary object.
generative AI: A class of artificial-intelligence models that use deep learning and neural networks to generate — create — texts, pictures, audio, computer code or video in response to a user’s request.
gravity: The force that attracts anything with mass, or bulk, toward any other thing with mass. The more mass that something has, the greater its gravity.
hacking: (in computing) To get unapproved — often illegal — access to a computer, usually to steal or alter data or files.
hypothesis: (v. hypothesize) A proposed explanation for a phenomenon. In science, a hypothesis is an idea that must be rigorously tested before it is accepted or rejected.
insight: The ability to gain an accurate and deep understanding of a situation just by thinking about it, instead of working out a solution through experimentation.
intelligence: The ability to collect and apply knowledge and skills.
jailbreak: (in artificial intelligence) To bypass the safety and security settings of a chatbot or AI agent in order to get it to do things it’ s not supposed to do.
large language model: (in computing) Language models are a type of machine learning. They attempt to predict upcoming words (in text or speech) and then present those predictions using words that almost anyone should understand. The models learn to do this by reviewing large quantities of text or speech. As their name would imply, large language models train using enormous troves of data. They organize and make sense of those data using “neural nets” — a scheme patterned a bit off of the pathways of nerves in the human brain (and for whose development the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded). Large language models don’t just learn words, but also phrases made of many words. They can even learn from the context in which a new phrase and idea is worded (meaning the words that accompany those phrases or in which those phrases have been embedded).
link: A connection between two people or things.
materials scientist: A researcher who studies how the atomic and molecular structure of a material is related to its overall properties. Materials scientists can design new materials or analyze existing ones. Their analyses of a material’s overall properties (such as density, strength and melting point) can help engineers and other researchers select materials that are best suited to a new application.
model: A simulation of a real-world event (usually using a computer) that has been developed to predict one or more likely outcomes. Or an individual that is meant to display how something would work in or look on others.
orbit: The curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a galaxy, star, planet or moon. One complete circuit around a celestial body.
physical: (adj.) A term for things that exist in the real world, as opposed to in memories or the imagination. It can also refer to properties of materials that are due to their size and non-chemical interactions (such as when one block slams with force into another).
planet: A large celestial object that orbits a star but unlike a star does not generate any visible light.
range: The full extent or distribution of something. For instance, a plant or animal’s range is the area over which it naturally exists. (in math or for measurements) The extent to which values can vary (such as the highest to lowest temperatures). Also, the distance within which something can be reached or perceived.
solution: A liquid in which one chemical has been dissolved into another.
star: The basic building block from which galaxies are made. Stars develop when gravity compacts clouds of gas. When they become hot enough, stars will emit light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The sun is our closest star.
statistics: The practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities and interpreting their meaning. Much of this work involves reducing errors that might be attributable to random variation. A professional who works in this field is called a statistician.
system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body’s circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation’s railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.
technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, or the devices, processes and systems that result from those efforts.
tedious: (n. tedium) An adjective for something that is disturbingly slow, boring, monotonous and/or repetitive.
theory: (in science) A description of some aspect of the natural world based on extensive observations, tests and reason. A theory can also be a way of organizing a broad body of knowledge that applies in a broad range of circumstances to explain what will happen. Unlike the common definition of theory, a theory in science is not just a hunch. Ideas or conclusions that are based on a theory — and not yet on firm data or observations — are referred to as theoretical. Scientists who use mathematics and/or existing data to project what might happen in new situations are known as theorists.
token: (in artificial intelligence) A term for small parcels of text — words, parts of words or some characters — that AI language models process. For instance, each word in a sentence may be a token. AI models can’t “understand” text, so they use definitions for each token to infer the meaning of combinations of words. These tokens help AI systems identify patterns and give meaning to strings of words.
virtual: Being almost like something. An object or concept that is virtually real would be almost true or real — but not quite. The term often is used to refer to something that has been modeled by (or accomplished by) a computer using numbers, not by using real-world parts. (in computing) Things that are performed in or through digital processing and/or the internet. For instance, a virtual conference may be where people attended by watching it over the internet.