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Artificial intelligence in business: an explainer

Training machines to carry out human tasks will bring more efficiencies, job losses and risks. Here, FT journalists explain the potential of generative and God-like AI and the likely impact on industry sectors, in Q&As and graphics

Supported by Infosys

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What is artificial intelligence and how does it work?
Computers can be trained to carry out complex tasks once performed only by humans — and often at a higher speed or accuracy
Graphic: How machines learn
Machine learning works in the same way as human learning: repeating a process and making adjustments after mistakes, to gradually improve outcomes
Which business tasks can AI take on? And which can it not?
Sectors most likely to be affected are those involving language: advertising, journalism, consulting and law
What are the risks of using AI in business?
In the short term, the technology threatens to make employees redundant; longer term, the danger is existential
How will AI be regulated?
New EU rules would make companies liable for misuse of the technology, but critics say regulators should only step in if needed
AI in banking, payments and insurance
Algorithms are already being used to check payment balances, detect suspicious transactions, and optimise insurance pricing

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