Algorithm

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that a computer follows to solve a problem or accomplish a specific task.

In the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), an algorithm takes on a more nuanced role. It's the brain of the AI, guiding its ability to learn, make decisions, and predict outcomes. An AI algorithm might be used to recognize patterns in data, like identifying images of cats in a stack of animal pictures, or to predict future events based on past data, like the weather for next week based on previous weather patterns. These algorithms can adapt and get smarter over time, learning from the outcomes of past decisions to make better decisions in the future. This "learning" capability is what distinguishes AI algorithms from ordinary computer algorithms.

To encapsulate, an algorithm in the AI context is a set of rules that instructs the AI to learn from data, enabling it to make decisions, recognize patterns, and predict future outcomes.