It feels like Artificial Intelligence (or AI for short) is everywhere these days. From being mentioned in news stories to our phones now having options to use it, AI has become part of everyday life. But what actually is it? 

What is AI? 

Artificial Intelligence is technology which has been developed to carry out tasks for us to try to make our lives easier.  

The technology can process lots of information extremely quickly, allowing it to be very efficient. It’s also developed to think like a human would and learn along the way.  

What is AI used for? 

AI uses information to carry out tasks that would normally need human thought, such as: 

• Answering questions
• Identifying trends
• Solving problems
• Making decisions
• Creating content

One of the reasons AI has become so popular is its capacity to ‘learn’. Not in the traditional way, as you’d do at school, but to improve how it handles tasks. By analysing data, the questions people are asking it, and how effective it has been previously, AI can refine how it completes tasks to better assist us. 

Where Can I Find AI? 

These days, everywhere. It’s present on mobile phones and tablets, voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant and Microsoft’s Cortana, and even in fridges and cars! If you’ve used any kind of device recently, it’s probably given you a notification that AI is now available on it.  

Technology companies are investing huge amounts of money to develop their own AI systems to attract customers to their brands. 

Social media platforms use AI throughout their sites, to show you content it thinks you might like, to run chatbots, and within moderation and fake news detection.

Read more about examples of AI on our ‘How can AI help me?’ page. (hyperlink) 

What Are The Benefits of AI? 

Artificial Intelligence can analyse and sort huge amounts of information and data faster than we humans ever could. What would take us hours or days can take just a few seconds for AI.  

For example, if you search for something on the internet, you need to look through the results to find which one best answer your question. Ask AI something though, and it’ll give you one answer straight away. You should always check the answers it gives you, as the technology is still being perfected, but there’s no denying it’s the quickest way to get an answer when you are out and about. 

AI can also speed up the process of creating digital content, quickly supplying text, images or video that it has made itself. It’s important to know that AI created content is usually made up from lots of other people’s content. It should not be treated as original.  

What are the downsides of AI? 

Like most technology, artificial intelligence is still developing.  It has its limitations, and it may not always give you the correct answer or complete the task you way you want it to. You should always double check any response you receive from AI, to make sure you are getting an accurate answer.  

And AI can be used to create deepfakes or scams, designed to trick you. Not everything you see online is real. (Link to other pages) 

There are also concerns about the environmental impact artificial intelligence has. In order to power AI systems, companies need to have huge data centres to host them. The electronics used by the data centres need a lot of raw materials, and produce a electronic waste, including substances that are hazardous. A huge amount of water is required to build the data centres and keep them cool, as well as lots of energy to power them. Together, this can have a significant impact on the environment. 

There are concerns within schools that pupils are using AI to write assignments and do homework. A survey in 2025 found that 80% of teachers think students are using AI in their school work. This means the pupils isn’t learning or researching what is required. But more importantly, it raises serious question marks over whether the content that AI is giving pupils is correct, and whether they would be able to spot and correct anything they think may be wrong.

Personal privacy is also an area where AI can raise issues. Because artificial intelligence is able to scan through data at such high speeds, it can find information on individuals incredibly quickly. Anything you’ve ever uploaded to online is available for AI to include if someone asks about you, whether you remember posting it or not.