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The Four Types of Artificial

Intelligence
What to know about the different levels of AI
By Sam Costello Updated on March 21, 2021
Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is increasingly becoming a part of our

everyday lives, even if we don't always know it. Because it's already
here and only going to become more critical in the future, it's
essential to understand the four types of artificial intelligence, how
they're distinct, and which ones are in use today.

Overview of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is measured in comparison to the functions of
the human mind. A true, fully complete AI could replicate—and likely
extend—a human brain's functions. It would be self-aware, have
consciousness and memories, could learn and make predictions
about likely future events—and would do these things on its own,
without human intervention or input from programmers.

The Four Types of AI: Reactive Machines

The first and most basic kind of AI is Reactive Machines. These
machines have intelligence that exists almost entirely in the present
moment (eat your hearts out, meditators!). Programmers build
Reactive Machines around complex sets of rules. In addition to those
rules, they may include neural networks that allow them to learn and
adapt in the moment.
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Crucially, though, this type of AI can't form memories or act based on

past experiences. Because they can't create memories, they can't take
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past occurrences, even those that happened to them, and use them to
make new decisions. In this way, they're restricted to the scenarios
and information covered in their sets of rules. Because of this
limitation, one can trick Reactive Machines into being defeated by
forcing them to operate outside their limited set of rules.
Reactive Machines also don't have a concept of the future. They can
use their rules to make extrapolations about what might come next,
but only within the boundaries established by their rule sets.
Because they can't change their future actions based on past
occurrences, Reactive Machines can't learn.

Examples: IBM Deep Blue (plays chess), IBM Watson (won at

Jeopardy), Google AlphaGo (plays Go), recommendation
engines like those found in streaming video and audio services
Related: Learn more about Reactive Machines AI

The Four Types of AI: Limited Memory

This more-advanced AI type has the abilities of reactive machines but
adds a concept of the past. While Limited Memory AIs aren't forming
memories, they are aware of a recent past and can use the data
captured at that time to influence their decisions.
Self-driving cars are the best example here. They continuously monitor
the conditions around them—what other vehicles are doing, where
objects are, how pedestrians are moving, etc.—and holding that
information in a temporary state to influence their actions. As you
might imagine, Limited Memory AIs process tremendous amounts of
data and make decisions very quickly.
This AI level is called "Limited Memory" because these past
experiences aren't stored permanently, and it can't use them for all
future learning. Instead, these past experiences are saved for a short
time while they're practical and then discarded.
Examples: Self-driving cars
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Related: Get an in-depth view of Limited Memory AI

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The Four Types of AI: Theory of Mind
With Theory of Mind AI, we get closer to the science-fiction ideal of
artificial intelligence. This level of AI includes all of the aspects of
Reactive Machines and Limited Memory. But it adds a crucial and
complex bit of understanding: that living objects (people, animals,
etc.) around them have a thing called a "mind."

Once an AI understands that other creatures have minds, it can then

understand that it should learn and adjust its decisions based on those
minds. It then understands minds generate thoughts and emotions
(even if it doesn't truly understand what those things are yet) and that
thoughts and emotions will influence behavior. The AI has to use
those factors in its decision-making framework.

Examples: There are no known examples of Theory of Mind AI in

existence (though some robots that attempt to understand and
simulate point a direction for this type)
Related: Learn more about Theory of Mind AI

The Four Types of AI: Self Aware

Self-Aware AI is the final and most complex, and mature level of AI.
It's a genuinely self-aware intelligence. Any AI from science fiction
falls into this category. It's an entity with true consciousness. It's aware
of its existence and its internal states (and potentially emotions), can
form memories of the past, and make predictions. It's aware of other
consciousnesses and can take them into account when making

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decisions. Crucially, it can learn and become more intelligent based

on its experiences.
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A Self-Aware AI would require extremely flexible programming logic,
an ability to update its logic on its own, and a tolerance for
inconsistency since human behavior isn't always neatly predictable or
rigidly patterned.

Examples: Self Aware AI doesn't exist currently and is likely

many years away from being achieved
Related: Learn more about Self Aware AI

The Four Types of AI Compared

The four key types of AI, and their key characteristics, are listed below
for easy reference and comparison.

AI Type Follows Can Has Knows Aware  Tru

Rules Learn  Memories Other of AI
Minds Emotion 
Exist 

Reactive  ✓
Machines

Limited ✓  ✓   limited
Memory

Theory  ✓  ✓  ✓  ✓  ✓
of Mind

Self  ✓  ✓  ✓  ✓ ✓   ✓
Aware

Should We Worry About AI?

Anyone passing familiar with science fiction about AIs knows that
things often go wrong for humans once a machine achieves
consciousness (hello, Skynet). So, should we be worried about AI?

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There's no single answer to this question, but it's a good idea to be

thoughtful and careful about how we go about creating and using fully
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self-aware AI.
There's the doomsday scenario of AIs replacing humans—whether that
means taking human jobs and leaving people without work or income
or the darker Terminator-style storyline. There are also ethical
concerns: Is it acceptable to create a consciousness that can think and
feel and then force it to do our bidding?
Some ethicists study AI and write about these questions. As AI
becomes more advanced and more widespread, we'll need to make
sure we listen to them, and our laws and governments adapt to the
unique challenges—and possibilities—created by AI.
What Is a Neural Network?

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