Jargon shouldn't scare you
When people talk about artificial intelligence, terms that sound complicated pile up fast. But behind almost every one is a simple idea. Here are 12 terms worth knowing — explained the way I'd explain them to a colleague over coffee.
The basics
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Artificial intelligence (AI) — a broad term for programs that perform tasks that "used to need a human": understanding text, recognizing images, making predictions.
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Machine learning — an approach where a program "learns" from a large number of examples, instead of us programming everything in advance.
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LLM (large language model) — a type of AI trained on a huge amount of text to understand and write language. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are LLMs.
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Generative AI — AI that creates new content (text, images, audio), as opposed to one that only analyzes or classifies.
When you use a tool
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Prompt — the instruction you give the AI. The clearer it is, the better the answer.
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Token — a chunk of text (roughly a word or part of a word) that AI uses to "measure" length. Limits and prices are often counted in tokens.
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Context (context window) — how much text AI can "hold in mind" at once. A larger context = it can process a longer document.
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Multimodality — the ability to work with several kinds of content: not just text, but also images, audio, or documents.
Good to know
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Model / version — a specific "generation" of an AI (e.g. a newer model is usually smarter and more accurate than an older one).
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Fine-tuning — additional training of a finished model on specific data to make it better in a narrow area.
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Hallucination — when AI confidently states incorrect information. That's why everything it claims must be verified.
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API — a way to connect AI to another program (e.g. so your scheduling software can "talk" to the AI). As a user, you most often won't even need it.
Conclusion
You don't have to be an engineer to use AI — just as you don't need to know how an engine works to drive a car. But these twelve terms will help you find your way through any article, guide, or conversation about artificial intelligence.
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