Trying to make sense of artificial intelligence? Here’s your guide

OpenAI and ChatGPT have put a major spotlight on artificial intelligence. But for a lot of people, it’s still a fuzzy concept. Here's a guide for beginners.

Artificial intelligence has, for decades, been fodder for science fiction films, philosophers and sleep-deprived computer programmers, but suddenly it seems to be everywhere. 

ChatGPT reached 100 million users at an unprecedented rate. Bill Gates recently declared that “the Age of AI has begun.” And the Biden administration last month began exploring new measures to hold artificial intelligence systems accountable for their impact. 

But for a lot of people, it’s still a fuzzy concept that doesn’t affect their day-to-day lives. 

So this might be a good moment to take a step back and review the basics. Here’s a guide to help you understand what all the hype is about. 

You can thank (or blame) one specific company: OpenAI, a tech startup based in San Francisco with a few hundred employees. In November, OpenAI released the chatbot ChatGPT to the public, and it quickly became clear that it was leaps and bounds ahead of chatbots that had come before. It was like talking to someone who knew everything.