Generative AI

A type of artificial intelligence that can generate new content, such as text, imagery, audio, and synthetic data.

How it works

Generative AI models learn the statistical distribution of their training data, then sample from that distribution to produce new examples. Large language models learn the distribution of text and generate new text token by token. Diffusion models learn the distribution of images by learning to denoise. GANs learn to generate images by training a generator and discriminator in opposition. In each case, the model internalises the patterns in the training data and recombines them in novel ways.

Why it matters

Generative AI represents a fundamental shift in how software creates value: from retrieving or transforming existing content to creating new content on demand. It has unlocked productivity gains across writing, coding, image creation, and data synthesis at a scale and quality previously impossible. It is also profoundly disruptive: it automates tasks that were thought to require human creativity, raising deep questions about authorship, employment, and intellectual property.