Artificial Intelligence - Introduction

Artificial intelligence may be defined as a branch of computer science that is concerned with the automation of intelligent behavior. These principles include the data structures used in knowledge representation, the algorithms needed to apply that knowledge, and the languages and programming techniques used in their implementation.
However, this defenition suffers from the fact that intelligence itself is not very well defined or understood. Although most of us are certain that we know intelligent behaviour when we see it, it is doubtful that anyone could come close to defining intelligence in a way that would be specific enough to help in the evaluation of a supposedly intelligent computer program while still capturing the vitality and complexity of the human mind.
Thus the problem of defining AI becomes one of defining intelligence itself. Is intelligence a single faculty or is it just a namefor a collection of distinct and unrelated abilities?
Because of its scope and ambition AI defies simple definition. For the time being, we will simply define it as the collection of problems and methodologies studied by AI researchers. This defenitiom may seem silly and meaningless, but it makes an important point: AI , like every science , is a human endeavor , and perhaps , is best understood in that context.