You’ve heard about it, seen it and almost certainly used it in some form on a daily basis, whether through your phone, a computer or a…coffee maker?!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now ubiquitous in modern life, but how much do we really understand about this world-changing tech?
Here we try to answer the big question about the BIG topic that you might be scared to ask…but really want to know: what is AI? Like, what exactly is it? How does it work? Where does it come from? And perhaps most crucially, where is it going?
In this article, you’ll find frequently asked questions about AI, with plainspeaking answers to match. You’re not a dummy to want to know more about AI (knowledge is power, people); you’re one of the few people who really want to question what this increasingly normalised tech is all about.
So, if you want to understand the mechanics behind your smart watch, or why Alexa does some freaky stuff sometimes, read on to find answers to those pressing questions you could just Google…but why bother, when we have everything you’re looking for? When YOONO, you know!
At YOONO, we use innovative AI technology to power our intelligent background searches, and we certainly don’t take AI for granted. However, we also feel that it’s important for our users to know more about what our software is built on, and how we utilise AI technology responsibly to bring you the most relevant screening results possible.
At YOONO, we also believe no question is a stupid question. Curiosity is intelligence having fun! It’s time to go back to basics, and reveal everything you’ve ever wanted to know (or simply haven’t thought about) in relation to AI.
Click down for answers that will expand your (human) mind and impress your friends:
01 - The Biggie: What is AI?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technological simulation of human intelligence, that allows computers to perform tasks that would usually require human thought processes. Problem solving, decision making, creativity and comprehension are just some of the intelligent tasks AI can be used for.
Now almost ubiquitous in modern technology, common examples of AI include facial recognition, chatbots, virtual assistants and speech recognition. If you’ve used an iPhone, website or smart product (yep, even coffee machines have AI tech now) in the last few days, it’s more than likely you’ve interacted with AI in some form.
"At its core, AI is built on data, algorithms, and computing power. It learns by recognising patterns in vast amounts of information and refining its predictions over time. Whether it's a simple chatbot or a complex generative model, AI doesn’t 'think' like humans—it processes inputs and produces outputs based on statistical probabilities.
The biggest misconception is that AI has human-like understanding. In reality, it’s a powerful pattern-matching tool that automates decision-making, but it still requires careful oversight and ethical considerations."
-Oli Warriner, CTO at YOONO
02 - Are AI and machine learning the same thing?
Nope, AI and machine learning (ML) are not the same thing, but machine learning is a type of AI. Machine learning is a method for teaching machines to extract and learn from data autonomously, by programming computers with algorithms (instructions designed to accomplish a task).
So AI is a broad catch-all term for the ability of a computer to mimic human intelligence, while ML is more of an application of the AI process.
03 - What is Deep Learning?
Deep learning is a subset of machine learning, and although the term was coined in 2006 by computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, it has older roots as an idea. In 1943, Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts created a model of the human brain's neural networks, and today’s deep learning tech is built on something called ‘deep neural networks’, which are computational models that mimic the decision-making power of the human brain.
The multiple layers present in these deep neural networks enable unsupervised learning, i.e. learning which doesn’t require human intervention.
Deep learning is the foundation of Generative AI, see below.
04 - What is Generative AI?
Generative AI (Gen AI) is the most recent iteration of AI, a deep learning model that is the building block of a wide range of AI software like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and new kid on the block, DeepSeek.
Gen AI can create original content with a high level of complexity, such as realistic videos, imagery, long-form text or audio, in response to a user’s prompt or request.
There are three phases in operation in Gen AI, which are:
Training, which creates a foundation model that serves as the basis for different types of AI application. An example would be large language models (LLMs), which are used to generate text.
Tuning, using prompts or reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) to adapt the model for a specific application.
Generation, assessment and more fine-tuning, to improve the relevance and accuracy of the results. This may be performed as often as on a weekly basis, while foundation model training occurs less frequently, annually or every 18 months.
05 - What can AI be used for?
AI is becoming omnipresent across a wide range of products, services, websites and apps, and can be used for three main purposes—automation, personalisation and decision-making.
When it comes to products, chances are, if the item uses a computer system in some way, it’s likely to already use AI or have AI integrated into the design in the near future. Completely self-driven cars might still be in the pipeline, but AI coffee machines, security devices, smart watches and robot vacuums are all examples of the wide variety of AI consumer products now available.
AI is also integrated into a wide range of software, websites and apps, helping companies to automate time-consuming tasks, create personalised experiences for customers (think Chatbots and personal assistants) and, perhaps most importantly, improve businesses’ capacity to make decisions, by providing data research and summaries that draw attention to things that might otherwise have been overlooked by human eyes.
Did YOONO that AI-powered background screening can help you hire faster and smarter?
One of the ways that AI can transform your work process is in helping businesses make better decisions by researching, filtering and presenting the most relevant data about candidates. Long gone are the days of time-exhaustive research—now you can simply search for a person’s name and let YOONO bring you the insights that matter. Find hidden gems…and swerve serious business mistakes, all with just one simple search. Try YOONO for yourself, and see how intelligent background screening can transport your recruitment process into the future.
06 - Is AI bad?
YOONO this is the question you really want to ask. So, is AI evil? Despite everything The Terminator has taught us, no, AI is not inherently bad, but it can be misused. AI is still evolving, and is built on a foundation of human intelligence, so in many ways it reflects the imperfections and learning curves of its human programmers and users.
AI can be used for beneficial purposes, such as improving decision making, solving complex problems, and offering assistance with difficult or mundane tasks. But it can also be used to cause harm when used irresponsibly, including perpetuating bias through incomplete data, displacing jobs, falsifying content or mimicking the identity of others.
There are also concerns that AI encourages people to neglect basic tasks, making us increasingly reliant on technology to function in daily life. In the future it seems likely we will use AI as a replacement or alternative to our own sense of intellectual judgement, which may decrease our ability to make decisions autonomously.
07 - Will AI steal my job?
The short answer is probably not, with more job roles already being created in response to AI’s growth, mainly in areas relating to training AI, coding and programming, and refining AI content.
While it’s true that some job roles are already shrinking, such as customer service roles and repetitive or automated tasks, such as box packing and cataloguing, it’s very unlikely AI will be stealing your job anytime soon.
The best way to offset any fears about AI elbowing its way into your career is to learn to live with it. AI is designed to make aspects of our jobs easier, potentially freeing up time to pursue different areas of a job role. So while there are fears that AI automation could start to replace human action in certain industries (think AI-generated architectural plans, or AI-generated blog copy), it still requires an overarching human element to interpret and refine its output. If you start to integrate AI tech into your existing job role, you might find that this opens up other areas of your job that you had less time to explore beforehand.
08 - Is AI ethical?
The ethics of AI are in evolution as much as AI itself is. This area of AI is a growing concern for companies who use it, and it should really be of more concern than it is for consumers of AI products and services too. Because AI is becoming naturalised in society so quickly, we are at risk of overlooking some of the concerning aspects of AI, which mainly stem from either human misuse or from erroneous programming.
Key areas of ethical concern relating to AI include:
AI can perpetuate bias and discrimination when programmed poorly. The data that AI programs process is potentially full of inaccuracies and inherent biases, making it difficult to separate pure fact from falsified or discriminatory information. The best thing to overcome this? First of all, human users must take responsibility to assess the information presented, and secondly, it’s advisable to always take everything that has been generated by AI with a generous pinch of salt.
AI is sometimes trained on data that has been acquired inethically. Sensitive personal data, or information that was acquired without consent can be used to train AI software. There are a wide range of cases relating to things like human voice mimicry, creative copyright and private data emerging in the AI legal space, and with government bodies struggling to catch up, it’s not clear as of yet what the future will hold in terms of AI data privacy.
AI removes people from responsibility for their actions. Imagine a (near) future where someone from a particular ethnic background is denied a loan based on AI-generated information, or someone who is not guilty of a crime is arrested and tried on the basis of evidence gathered by a computer alone. These scenarios demonstrate how AI could begin to seep into contexts where human intelligence and empathy is crucial for making a sensitive decision. We may find that people are no longer accountable for their decisions—however life-changing—if they claim to have made choices based on AI data. This is an emerging, and alarming, area of AI ethics that is likely to become more pressing very soon.
09 - What will AI look like in the future?
In the near future, AI is likely to become more pervasive in everyday life, with most new tech-based products and services using the technology in some capacity. Given that so much investment and energy is being diverted into AI, the flaws present in today’s AI, such as non-realistic images and videos, are likely to be quickly ironed out.
There is also buzz about the potential of quantum computing to create powerful algorithms that are much faster and wider-reaching than classical computing. This branch of AI, Quantum AI, may be able to process much larger data sets, making breakthroughs in fields like optimisation and cryptography.
Further into the future, there is a hypothetical point where AI is predicted to surpass human intelligence, and begin to improve itself autonomously. Scary? You bet, but only if hypothesis becomes reality.
10 - What is YOONO?
With so much buzz and speculation around AI, it can be difficult to know what to use…and to trust.
With the right software to hand, AI can be a powerful tool for enhancing human decision making. Here at YOONO we design AI background screening that empowers people who run businesses to make better hiring decisions. Our smart search tool isn’t intended to replace human intelligence, rather it enhances it, helping our users to gain valuable insights from a wide pool of data that might otherwise be impossible to sift through. And all in very little time too. Dive deep, while paddling in the shallows.
If you’re curious about AI and what it can do for your business, why not start with a simple YOONO search? Type in a name and generate a comprehensive AI report that tells you everything you need to know (and a bit more besides). Consider YOONO your smart hiring companion for the future of work.
