Study guides · Stuff Every AI Scout Should Know
Practice facts for the Artificial Intelligence merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.
Knowing AI Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.
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Short answer: Artificial Intelligence
AI means Artificial Intelligence, the ability of computers to do tasks linked to human thinking.
Groan of the day: AI is smart, but it still needs you to be the brains of the outfit.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Helping computers read and write human languages
NLP lets programs read, write, and communicate in human languages.
Groan of the day: NLP helps computers speak your language, literally.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Neurons in a biological brain
Artificial neural networks loosely model the neurons in a biological brain.
Groan of the day: Neural networks are brainy, but not brains.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Generative Pre-trained Transformer
GPT means Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a type of large language model.
Groan of the day: GPT: Great at Producing Text, sometimes too great.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: The next token in text
GPT models are pre-trained by predicting the next token, usually a word or punctuation.
Groan of the day: One token at a time, the model builds a sentence.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: AlphaFold predicting protein structures
AlphaFold 2 approximated 3D protein structures in hours rather than months.
Groan of the day: AI in medicine: folding proteins, not laundry.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Beating chess champion Garry Kasparov
Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a reigning world chess champion in 1997.
Groan of the day: Deep Blue made chess history, one move at a time.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: A body of knowledge a program can use
A knowledge base is knowledge stored in a form a program can use.
Groan of the day: A knowledge base is a smart program's library.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Recognize patterns
Neural networks are trained to recognize patterns and find them in new data.
Groan of the day: Patterns are the neural network's favorite puzzle.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Ask a question in simple text
Chatbots let people ask a question or request a task using simple text.
Groan of the day: This chatbot is a good listener, it never talks back.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Programs that improve automatically on a task
Machine learning studies programs that can improve their performance on a task automatically.
Groan of the day: This program learns fast, it never skips class.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Labels with the expected answers
Supervised learning requires labeling training data with the expected answers.
Groan of the day: Labels help the model find its way, no sticky notes needed.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Analyze visual input
Computer vision is the ability to analyze visual input such as images.
Groan of the day: This camera has a great outlook on life.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Perceive, decide, and act toward goals
AI agents perceive their environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve goals.
Groan of the day: This agent has goals, and it is not just getting coffee.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: One whose decisions are not understandable
An AI system that is not understandable is known as a black box.
Groan of the day: A black box keeps secrets, but that is not always good.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Repetitive tasks without human intervention
Automation performs repetitive tasks without human intervention and can reduce human error.
Groan of the day: Automation does the boring bits, so you can do the fun bits.
Short answer: Handle many cognitive tasks like a human
General AI aims to complete nearly any cognitive task at least as well as a human.
Groan of the day: General AI wants to try everything on the menu.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Automatic language translation
Automatic language translation is an AI application used in workplaces and beyond.
Groan of the day: Translation turns bonjour into hello.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: It can produce incorrect outputs
AI learning has limits, and models can produce incorrect outputs or hallucinations.
Groan of the day: Even smart bots make mistakes.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Applying knowledge from one problem to a new one
Transfer learning applies knowledge gained from one problem to a new problem.
Groan of the day: Transfer learning moves skills, not boxes.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Finding patterns without labeled answers
Unsupervised learning finds patterns and makes predictions without other guidance.
Groan of the day: No labels needed, the data speaks for itself.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Natural Language Processing
NLP stands for natural language processing, which lets programs handle human language.
Groan of the day: NLP helps computers chat, not chatter.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Vague or partially true statements
Fuzzy logic assigns a degree of truth between 0 and 1 for vague propositions.
Groan of the day: Fuzzy logic is a little fuzzy, on purpose.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Local patterns in images
CNNs process local patterns efficiently, which is especially important in image processing.
Groan of the day: CNNs spot the edges before the whole picture.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: A fake image, audio, or video made with AI
Deepfakes are AI-generated media that can look or sound real and can affect a person's reputation.
Groan of the day: That deepfake is a real fake-out.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Tell a trusted adult and report it
Getting help from a trusted adult and reporting the content is a safe first step when someone is impacted.
Groan of the day: Report it and stay on the right track.
Short answer: It learns from biased data
Machine learning can learn bias from the data it is trained on, even if developers are unaware.
Groan of the day: Biased data makes a biased buddy.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: They collect personal information
AI devices and services can continuously collect personal information, raising privacy concerns.
Groan of the day: Your assistant may know more than your best friend.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Writing clear instructions for AI
Prompt engineering means writing clear instructions so AI produces better output.
Groan of the day: A good prompt is worth a thousand retries.
Short answer: Rewarding good responses and punishing bad ones
In reinforcement learning, an agent is rewarded for good responses and learns to choose them.
Groan of the day: Good bot gets a digital treat.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Machine learning using many neural network layers
Deep learning uses several layers of neurons to progressively extract higher-level features.
Groan of the day: Deep learning goes layer by layer.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Guide users to more content
Recommender systems guide users to more content, which can sometimes spread misinformation.
Groan of the day: The recommender always has another suggestion.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: A place where users see repeated similar content
Filter bubbles can convince users that repeated misinformation is true and undermine trust.
Groan of the day: Pop that filter bubble with a fresh source.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: An AI application
Autonomous vehicles are a prominent AI application, along with chatbots and virtual assistants.
Groan of the day: Self-driving cars are AI on wheels.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Supporting education tasks
AI can be used at school or in support of education, but it does not replace learning or counselors.
Groan of the day: AI can help with homework, not with skipping it.
Short answer: Training and education
AI careers involve training, education, certification requirements, experience, and expenses.
Groan of the day: AI careers need real preparation.
Short answer: Its programming and resources
AI agents operate within their programming, computational resources, and hardware limits.
Groan of the day: Even smart agents have limits.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Modeling decisions with uncertain outcomes
A Markov decision process models how actions change states and supplies rewards for decisions.
Groan of the day: Decisions with uncertainty are a real state of affairs.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: A category or numeric value
Supervised learning includes classification for categories and regression for numeric functions.
Groan of the day: Labels help the model learn.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Input from sensors
Machine perception uses sensor input such as cameras, microphones, and radar to deduce aspects of the world.
Groan of the day: Sensors are a machine's senses.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Recognizing or simulating human emotion
Affective computing recognizes, interprets, processes, or simulates human feeling and mood.
Groan of the day: A bot with feelings? Not quite, but close.
Sources: Artificial intelligence
Short answer: Whether a machine shows intelligent behavior
The Turing test is a classic way to check whether a machine can show human-like intelligent behavior.
Groan of the day: Can a bot pass as a buddy?
Short answer: Bias in decision-making
Ethical concerns include bias, privacy, and how AI makes decisions that affect people.
Groan of the day: Fair decisions matter, even for bots.
Short answer: A thermostat adjusting temperature
Automation performs repetitive tasks without human intervention, like a thermostat adjusting temperature.
Groan of the day: Automation handles the repeat stuff.
Short answer: Human error
Automation can reduce human error and optimize resources by handling repetitive tasks.
Groan of the day: Fewer slip-ups with automation.
Short answer: A software program that performs tasks
A bot is a software program that performs tasks, often automatically or in response to triggers.
Groan of the day: Bots do the busywork.
Short answer: An organized collection of data
A database is an organized collection of data that programs can store and use.
Groan of the day: A database keeps data tidy.
Short answer: A named storage for a value
A variable is a named storage location that holds a value a program can use and change.
Groan of the day: Variables hold the value of the day.
Short answer: Handle a specific task
Narrow AI is built to handle a specific task, unlike general AI that aims to handle many tasks.
Groan of the day: Narrow AI stays in its lane.
Short answer: An event that starts a workflow
A trigger is an event that starts a workflow, and workflows are sequences of automated steps.
Groan of the day: Triggers get the workflow rolling.
The whole guide on one screen. Screenshot it, print it, stick it on the fridge.
Think of your answer first, then peek.
Artificial Intelligence. AI means Artificial Intelligence, the ability of computers to do tasks linked to human thinking.
Programs that improve automatically on a task. Machine learning studies programs that can improve their performance on a task automatically.
Finding patterns without labeled answers. Unsupervised learning finds patterns and makes predictions without other guidance.
Machine learning using many neural network layers. Deep learning uses several layers of neurons to progressively extract higher-level features.
Recognizing or simulating human emotion. Affective computing recognizes, interprets, processes, or simulates human feeling and mood.
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