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Last Dictionary
2,709 entries · 28 domains

Contents

Seven families of words, each divided into domains. Every entry has one home domain and up to three neighbors.

Foundations

The ideas the rest is built on: what AI is, the mathematics beneath it, the symbolic tradition and the landmarks of its history.

368 words · 4 domains

Core ConceptsThe big ideas: AI, models, training, inference, and the words with many meanings.58Mathematics & StatisticsVectors, gradients, probability and information: the mathematics under the hood.108Symbolic & Classical AILogic, search, planning and knowledge representation: AI before deep learning, and alongside it.111History & LandmarksLandmark events, systems, papers and prizes, from Dartmouth to ChatGPT.91

Learning

How machines learn from data and from reward, from linear regression to the training of frontier models.

563 words · 5 domains

Machine LearningClassical machine learning: regression, trees, ensembles, clustering and the metrics that judge them.155Deep LearningNeural networks: their layers and architectures, and how they are trained.156Reinforcement LearningLearning from reward: agents, environments, policies and values.81Training & Post-trainingHow frontier models are pretrained, scaled, post-trained and fine-tuned.109Data & DatasetsDatasets, labels, corpora and provenance, and the problems data brings.62

Models & Systems

The systems themselves: language models, generative media, perception and robots, and the chips and methods that run them.

468 words · 6 domains

Language Models & TransformersTransformers, tokens, decoding and prompting: the language-model vocabulary.149Generative MediaModels that make images, video and sound: GANs, diffusion and beyond.58Vision, Speech & PerceptionSeeing and hearing: computer vision, speech and audio.68Robotics & Embodied AIRobots, embodiment, control and self-driving vehicles.70Inference & EfficiencyRunning models fast and cheaply: serving, caching, quantization.52Hardware & ComputeChips, memory, interconnects, data centers and number formats.71

Building with AI

Agents and harnesses, the engineering of AI products, and how their performance is measured.

275 words · 3 domains

Agents & HarnessesAgents, harnesses, tools, context and memory.91AI Engineering & MLOpsBuilding AI products: retrieval, APIs, deployment, monitoring and tooling.109Evaluation & BenchmarksBenchmarks, metrics and how AI is measured.75

Understanding & Safety

Looking inside models, keeping them safe and secure, and the long view toward AGI and superintelligence.

416 words · 4 domains

Interpretability & SteeringLooking inside models: features, circuits, steering and explanations.123Safety & AlignmentAlignment, oversight, and the ways AI systems can go wrong.124Security & MisuseAttacks on AI, attacks with AI, and the defenses.92AGI & SuperintelligenceAGI, superintelligence, takeoff, timelines and existential risk.77

Society

Law and policy, ethics and economics, minds and meaning, and the culture and slang of the AI world.

371 words · 4 domains

Governance, Policy & LawLaws, standards, treaties, summits and industry frameworks.130Society, Ethics & EconomyFairness, work, information, wellbeing and the economy.89Philosophy & MindIntelligence, consciousness, understanding and moral status.72Culture & SlangSlang, memes and episodes: the living language of the AI world.80

Who's Who

The people and organizations whose ideas and decisions shaped the field.

248 words · 2 domains

PeopleThe pioneers, researchers and builders whose ideas and decisions shaped AI.154Organizations & VenuesLabs, institutes, safety organizations, conferences and the places AI research is published.94