AI for Everybody - Lesson 5
What Is This Thing? Generative vs. Predictive
Two AI systems are running as you read this sentence. One is at your bank, watching your debit card. If you swipe something it thinks is fraud, it locks the card before you finish dinner. The other is in your browser. If you type a question into ChatGPT, it writes you a paragraph. Both are AI. They are completely different shapes of tool, and the difference matters more than the news coverage suggests.
This is the last triage move you need before Part 1 closes. Within the umbrella of “AI,” the largest split is between systems that predict (the older, quieter, much bigger industry) and systems that generate (the newer, louder, much-discussed slice). The same recipe of data, compute, and algorithms from last week powers both. The output shape is different. The risks are different. The way to read headlines about each is different.
