Key Terms
- adversarial attack
- sample input (e.g., an image) that is designed to cause a system to behave problematically
- algorithm
- sequence of precise instructions
- artificial intelligence (AI)
- development of computer functions to perform tasks, such as visual perception and decision-making processes, that usually are performed by human intelligence
- big data
- very large datasets that aren’t easily processed using spreadsheets
- computational science
- application of computing concepts and technologies to advance scientific research and practical applications of science knowledge
- computer program
- algorithms that can be run on a computer
- computer science (CS)
- study of the phenomena surrounding computers
- computing
- all phenomena related to computers
- data science
- interdisciplinary field that applies computing toward managing data and extracting information from data
- hardware
- physical, real-world materials that enable computation
- human-computer interaction (HCI)
- subfield of computer science that emphasizes the social aspects of computation
- image recognition
- problem of identifying objects in an image
- information science
- interdisciplinary field studying information technologies and systems as they relate to people, organizations, and societies
- memory
- means of addressing information in a computer by storing it in consistent locations
- network
- various technological devices that are connected and share information
- neural network
- AI algorithm architecture that emphasizes connections between artificial “neurons” whose behavior and values change in response to stimulus or input
- processor
- computer’s “brain,” that follows instructions from algorithms and processes data
- programming language
- language consisting of symbols and instructions that can be interpreted by a computer
- social determination of technology
- belief that technologies are inherently neutral, and that it is the people who use a technology who ultimately make it “good” or “bad”
- software
- algorithmic principles that determine how results are computed
- software engineering
- subfield of computer science that emphasizes how problems can be solved with computers as well as the practices and processes that can help people design more effective software solutions
- spreadsheet
- data-centric programming environment where data is organized into cells in a table
- storage
- hardware and physical components of a computer that permanently house a computer’s data
- technological fix
- idea that technologies can solve social problems, but now often used to critique blind faith in technological solutions to human problems
- theoretical computer science
- mathematical processes behind software
- Turing-complete
- fundamental model for computing results and every computer has the ability to run any algorithm
- vacuum tube
- physical device that works like a light bulb used as memory in early digital computers