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Lesson 1 of 7 · about 4 minutes

What is AI?

The big idea: AI is a computer program that learns from lots of examples. Then it can make guesses, suggestions, and choices.

A computer that learns from examples

Most computer programs follow steps that a person wrote down, one at a time. Many of today's AI programs work differently. People show them many, many examples, and they find patterns in them.

AI stands for artificial intelligence. Artificial means made by people. Intelligence means being able to learn and solve problems.

AI is already around you

You might use AI every day without noticing. Here are some places it can show up:

  • A phone that turns your voice into words on the screen.
  • A computer voice that reads words out loud.
  • A tool that turns words into another language.
  • An app that can tell what is in a picture, like a dog or a bike.
  • A chatbot that answers questions in writing.

What the law says

A United States law, the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020, explains AI in grown-up words. Here is what it means: AI is a computer system that works on goals people give it. It makes predictions, suggestions, or decisions. These can affect the real world or a world made by computers.

Try this: Be an AI detective

  1. Look around your home or classroom for things that might use AI.
  2. For each one, ask: what is it guessing or choosing?
  3. Make a list with a grown-up. How many did you find?

Remember

  • AI is a computer program that learns from examples.
  • It makes guesses, suggestions, and choices.
  • You probably use AI already, maybe every day.

Quick quiz

Pick an answer to see if you got it. Nothing is saved.

  1. 1.What does the A in AI stand for?
  2. 2.How does AI learn?
  3. 3.Which of these might use AI?

0 of 3 answered.

For grown-ups: sources and going further

The "What the law says" section paraphrases the federal definition of artificial intelligence in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3), from the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020, which was enacted on January 1, 2021. The statute's words are "real or virtual environments." Not all AI learns from examples; older systems followed rules people wrote, so the lesson says "many of today's" AI programs. The everyday examples are kinds of tools described in the multimodal explainer: speech to text, text to speech, translation, and image understanding.

Written for readers about 8 to 12, last reviewed 2026-10-11. How these lessons were made.