AI Atlas — a plain-language field guide to AI jargon

This is a curated glossary of current AI terminology, not an exhaustive taxonomy. Every entry is layered: plain words, an analogy, and an everyday example first; then the precise definition, a real-system example, a distinction worth keeping, and a course, paper, or official guide chosen for that term. Categories organize learning; concepts overlap. Examples and analogies are illustrative, and product names are mentioned only to help you recognize a term in the wild. “Agent,” “AGI,” and “foundation model” have context-dependent definitions.

Concepts reviewed September 2026. No live model calls are made by this guide. Walkthroughs describe example architectures. Progress, theme, and reading depth are stored only in your browser.