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IBM
ibm.com › think › topics › generative-ai
What is Generative AI? | IBM
2 days ago - Generative AI is artificial intelligence (AI) that can create original content in response to a user’s prompt or request.

artificial intelligence model capable of generating content in response to a prompt

Generative artificial intelligence - Wikipedia
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Generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI, or GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code or other forms of data. These models … Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Generative_artificial_intelligence
Generative artificial intelligence - Wikipedia
1 day ago - Generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI, or GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code or other forms of data. These models learn the underlying patterns and structures of their training data and ...
Discussions

What is generative AI and how does it work?
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text, images, music, audio, and videos, using generative models. Generative models are machine learning models that learn the patterns and structure of a given dataset and then generate new data that has similar characteristics. For example, a generative model trained on a dataset of human faces can generate new faces that look realistic but do not belong to any real person. There are different types of generative models, such as variational autoencoders (VAEs), generative adversarial networks (GANs), autoregressive models, and transformers. Each of these models has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the task and the data. For instance, GANs are good at producing high-quality images, but they are difficult to train and prone to mode collapse. Transformers are good at generating natural language, but they require a lot of computational resources and data. Generative AI has many applications in creative activities, data enrichment, problem-solving, and more. For example, generative AI can be used to synthesize new images for art or entertainment, augment existing data for training or testing purposes, solve complex optimization problems, or generate novel ideas or solutions. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/generativeAI
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5
October 12, 2023
What is Generative AI?
Yo dawg, I heard you like generative AI, so I got a generative AI to write about generative AI, so you can generative AI while you generative AI. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/generativeAI
12
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August 9, 2024
ELI5: What is the difference between predictive AI and generative AI?
A predictive AI predicts things like weather or traffic. A generative AI generates new content, like images or text. You could phrase it in a way that mixes them; "can you predict what a kangaroo cooking pizza would look like?" And some use cases are bit of a combination, eg AI rendering a red circle around a fracture in a X-ray. A possible difference is in how they are trained. For predictive AI, you usually feed past data with a known outcome, and then the network is modified with what is called backpropagation to change the network so that its output matches more closely with the known correct answer. Generative AI is usually taught unsupervised, meaning that it is fed data without knowing what the output should be. There is usually also a supervised learning step, for example, the AI might generate two outputs and humans then label one as better than the other. Especially in image generation, an adversial network can be used in training. Here, the adversial network tries to determine how good the output of the generative network is, and the two networks essentially compete. But, lot of techniques can really be shared between predictive and generative AI, so it's more about their purpose really. These terms aren't fully descriptive of the technical implementations, as most modern bleeding edge AI solutions tend to be a combination of many learning techniques and even many network architectures. And e.g. for weather modelling, you might use a generative network which then produces your weather prediction. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/explainlikeimfive
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May 22, 2024
Here's my non-technical guide to Generative AI basics (Part 1)
YES PLEASE!! Part 2 More on reddit.com
🌐 r/ProductManagement
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January 28, 2025
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NNLM
nnlm.gov › guides › data-thesaurus › generative-artificial-intelligence
Generative Artificial Intelligence | NNLM
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a system of algorithms or computer processes that can create novel output in text, images or other media based on user prompts. These systems are created by programmers who train them on large sets of data.
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McKinsey
mckinsey.com › featured-insights › mckinsey-explainers › what-is-generative-ai
What is ChatGPT, DALL-E, and generative AI? | McKinsey
April 2, 2024 - Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT) that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos.
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AWS
aws.amazon.com › what is cloud computing › cloud computing concepts hub › generative ai
What is Generative AI? - Gen AI Explained - AWS
1 week ago - Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) is a type of AI that can create new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos, and music. It can learn human language, programming languages, art, chemistry, biology, or any complex subject matter.
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University of Illinois
education.illinois.edu › about › news-events › news › article › 2024 › 11 › 11 › what-is-generative-ai-vs-ai
Traditional AI vs. Generative AI: What’s the Difference? | Illinois
AI analyzes and interprets existing data to improve efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making within predefined boundaries. Generative AI creates text, images, music, and models based on existing data. AI is used in predictive analytics, natural ...
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University Center for Teaching and Learning
teaching.pitt.edu › resources › what-is-generative-ai
What is Generative AI? – University Center for Teaching and Learning
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools use machine learning models trained on massive pools of information to learn patterns from data to create novel content like text, images, audio, or video in response to a prompt. Unlike internet searches, generative AI tools do not use algorithms ...
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Google Support
support.google.com › websearch › answer › 13954172
Learn about generative AI - Google Search Help
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a type of AI that can help you create content.
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IBM
research.ibm.com › blog › what-is-generative-AI
What is generative AI? - IBM Research
July 21, 2025 - Generative AI refers to deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images, and other content based on the data they were trained on.
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Google Cloud
cloud.google.com › use-cases › generative-ai
What is Generative AI? Examples & Use Cases | Google Cloud
Generative AI is a category of artificial intelligence that can create new text, images, video, audio, or code. Learn how it works with Google Cloud.
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MIT News
news.mit.edu › 2023 › explained-generative-ai-1109
Explained: Generative AI | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
And despite the hype that came with the release of ChatGPT and its counterparts, the technology itself isn’t brand new. These powerful machine-learning models draw on research and computational advances that go back more than 50 years. ... An early example of generative AI is a much simpler model known as a Markov chain.
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VIC.GOV.AU
www2.education.vic.gov.au › pal › generative-artificial-intelligence › guidance › introducing-generative-ai-tools
Generative Artificial Intelligence: Introducing generative AI tools
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of computer-based model that can generate new content or modify existing content in response to user prompts. The inputs and outputs of generative AI tools can include text, images, audio, computer ...
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Coursera
coursera.org › coursera articles › data › ai and machine learning › what is generative ai? how it works, examples, benefits, and limitations
What Is Generative AI? How It Works, Examples, Benefits, and Limitations | Coursera
August 15, 2025 - Generative AI is a subset of artificial intelligence, which is essentially defined as the pursuit of creating machines capable of exhibiting (or exceeding) human intelligence. GenAI is a type of machine learning focused on building generative ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/generativeai › what is generative ai and how does it work?
r/generativeAI on Reddit: What is generative AI and how does it work?
October 12, 2023 -

I'm a student trying to learn about AI for my Information systems class. I hope we can have an informed discussion. I want to start this discussion off with a basic question. There is no need to have extensive or professional knowledge on the subject, enthusiasts are welcome!

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Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text, images, music, audio, and videos, using generative models. Generative models are machine learning models that learn the patterns and structure of a given dataset and then generate new data that has similar characteristics. For example, a generative model trained on a dataset of human faces can generate new faces that look realistic but do not belong to any real person. There are different types of generative models, such as variational autoencoders (VAEs), generative adversarial networks (GANs), autoregressive models, and transformers. Each of these models has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the task and the data. For instance, GANs are good at producing high-quality images, but they are difficult to train and prone to mode collapse. Transformers are good at generating natural language, but they require a lot of computational resources and data. Generative AI has many applications in creative activities, data enrichment, problem-solving, and more. For example, generative AI can be used to synthesize new images for art or entertainment, augment existing data for training or testing purposes, solve complex optimization problems, or generate novel ideas or solutions.
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Generative AI (GAI) is the name given to a subset of AI machine learning technologies that have recently developed the ability to rapidly create content in response to text prompts, which can range from short and simple to very long and complex. Different generative AI tools can produce new audio, image, and video content, but it is text-oriented conversational AI that has fired imaginations. In effect, people can converse with, and learn from, text-trained generative AI models in pretty much the same way they do with humans. Businesses large and small should be excited about generative AI’s potential to bring the benefits of technology automation to knowledge work, which until now has largely resisted automation. Generative AI tools change the calculus of knowledge work automation; their ability to produce human-like writing, images, audio, or video in response to plain-English text prompts means that they can collaborate with human partners to generate content that represents practical work. How Does Generative AI work? There are two answers to the question of how generative AI models work. Empirically, we know how they work in detail because humans designed their various neural network implementations to do exactly what they do, iterating those designs over decades to make them better and better. AI developers know exactly how the neurons are connected; they engineered each model’s training process. Yet, in practice, no one knows exactly how generative AI models do what they do—that’s the embarrassing truth. “We don’t know how they do the actual creative task because what goes on inside the neural network layers is way too complex for us to decipher, at least today,” said Dean Thompson, a former chief technology officer of multiple AI startups that have been acquired over the years by companies, including LinkedIn and Yelp, where he remains as a senior software engineer working on large language models (LLMs). Generative AI’s ability to produce new original content appears to be an emergent property of what is known, that is, their structure and training. So, while there is plenty to explain vis-a-vis what we know, what a model such as GPT-3.5 is actually doing internally—what it’s thinking, if you will—has yet to be figured out. Some AI researchers are confident that this will become known in the next 5 to 10 years; others are unsure it will ever be fully understood. Here’s an overview of what we do know about how generative AI works: • Start with the brain. To improve its predictive ability, the brain builds an internal representation of the world. In his theory, human intelligence emerges from that process. Whether influenced by Hawkins or not, generative AI works exactly this way. And, startlingly, it acts as if it is intelligent. • Build an artificial neural network. All generative AI models begin with an artificial neural network encoded in software. Thompson says a good visual metaphor for a neural network is to imagine the familiar spreadsheet, but in three dimensions because the artificial neurons are stacked in layers, similar to how real neurons are stacked in the brain. Each layer may have tens, hundreds, or thousands of artificial neurons, but the number of neurons is not what AI researchers focus on. Instead, they measure models by the number of connections between neurons. The strengths of these connections vary based on their cell equations’ coefficients, which are more generally called “weights” or “parameters.” These connection-defining coefficients are what’s being referred to when you read, for example, that the GPT-3 model has 175 billion parameters. The latest version, GPT-4, is rumored to have trillions of parameters, though that is unconfirmed. There are a handful of neural network architectures with differing characteristics that lend themselves to producing content in a particular modality; the transformer architecture appears to be best for large language models, for example. • Teach the newborn neural network model. Large language models are given enormous volumes of text to process and tasked to make simple predictions, such as the next word in a sequence or the correct order of a set of sentences. In practice, though, neural network models work in units called tokens, not words.
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Google
docs.cloud.google.com › ai and ml › vertex ai › generative ai on vertex ai
Generative AI beginner's guide | Generative AI on Vertex AI | Google Cloud Documentation
This beginner's guide introduces ... Generative AI (also known as genAI or gen AI) is a field of machine learning (ML) that develops and uses ML models for generating new content....
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › artificial intelligence › what-is-generative-ai
What is Generative AI? - Examples, Definition & Models - GeeksforGeeks
Generative AI is trained on large datasets like text, images, audio or video using deep learning networks. During training, the model learns parameters (millions or billions of them) that help them predict or generate content.
Published   2 weeks ago
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Red Hat
redhat.com › en › topics › ai › what-is-generative-ai
What is generative AI?
Generative AI is a kind of artificial intelligence technology that relies on deep learning models trained on large data sets to create new content.
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Dartmouth College
researchguides.dartmouth.edu › GenAI › define
What is Generative AI? - Generative AI & Research - Research Guides at Dartmouth College
September 25, 2025 - AI systems can perform tasks that ... Generative Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence technology capable of generating new content, such as text, images, audio, or video, based on patterns learned from existing data....
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AltexSoft
altexsoft.com › blog › generative-ai
Generative AI Models Explained | AltexSoft
September 5, 2024 - Generative AI refers to unsupervised and semi-supervised machine learning algorithms that enable computers to use existing content like text, audio and video files, images, and even code to create new possible content.
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ServiceNow
servicenow.com › ai › what-is-generative-ai.html
What is generative AI? - ServiceNow
Generative AI describes artificial intelligence that creates original, realistic content—such as images or text—without extensive human input.