Have you ever seen a movie where robots take over the world? Maybe you’ve noticed people everywhere talking about artificial intelligence (AI) all the time. It often comes with some talk about how it is going to take over a bunch of jobs and completely change the future. It can sound pretty scary or confusing! But don’t worry, AI is super powerful and can do a lot of things, but there so many things that it can’t do that we humans are really good at. AI is also not the future. It’s all around already right now! Let’s learn a bit more about what AI can and can’t do.
What are some things AI can’t do?
So, what exactly is AI? When we talk about AI, we mean machines that are very smart and are made to do some of the things that humans do. It’s a program that can analyze a lot of information and make decisions. Here’s the thing: AI is amazing at some things, but it can’t do everything humans can. For example:
- Knowing About Itself: AI can’t quite grasp the idea of “itself” the way you can. An AI chatbot might say “Hi!” when you chat with it, but it doesn’t really understand greetings. It’s just following the instructions it was given, kind of like following a script!
- Feeling Feelings: AI can’t understand your emotions. A chat bot might say “I’m sorry to hear that” if you’re sad, but it doesn’t actually feel your sadness. It’s just programmed to recognize that the words you use mean sadness and to react in a certain way!
- Making Moral Choices: AI follows instructions, not the idea of good or bad. It might be able to drive a car, but it doesn’t understand why stopping at a red light is the right thing to do. It just knows it’s programmed to stop!
- Having Dreams: AI doesn’t have its own goals or desires. It doesn’t care if it recommends the perfect movie for you or not, it just follows the program to find movies you might like.
What can AI do really well?
AI can’t do a lot of things that human do, but it does have some of superpowers. When you give AI a lot of information, it can learn from it and understand or make new things based on what it has learned. Because it’s a machine, AI can do this super fast! For example:
- Super Sleuth: AI can analyze tons of information in seconds, way faster than any human detective! This helps with things like finding patterns in weather data or recommending music you might enjoy.
- Super Consistent: AI never gets tired or forgets things. This makes it perfect for tasks that need to be done exactly the same way every time, like checking products in a factory.
Different but each with our strengths
So, AI is a tool that’s very different than us humans. It can be a big help, but it’s not going to replace us and take over all of our jobs. As AI keeps developing, it will get better at what it does, but it’ll never be exactly like a human. That’s because humans have something special that AI doesn’t: emotions, creativity, and the ability to make our own choices. Pretty cool, right? So the next time you hear someone talking or worrying about AI, take a moment and think about what AI can and can’t do. It will help you imagine what the future might bring!
Do you want to know more about AI? Check out our sample learning paths‘ “What is artificial intelligence?” section!
We’ve also got a version of this article written for adults, which you can find here