The 10 questions everyone asks about AI.
Short answers to the questions people search most: AI is pattern-matching software, it is not conscious, it will more likely change jobs than erase them, and it can be confidently wrong. Each answer below links to a fuller explanation.
1. What is AI, actually?
AI is software that learns patterns from examples instead of following hand-written rules. Show it enough pictures of cats and it learns what "cat" looks like — nobody wrote a rule about pointy ears. Everything else is a variation on that idea.
Full explanation in Station 01 →
2. Is AI conscious or self-aware?
No. Today's AI has no understanding, feelings, or awareness. It's advanced pattern-matching over enormous amounts of text. General machine intelligence (AGI) does not exist today, and anyone claiming their product has it is overselling.
3. Will AI take my job?
More likely it changes your job. The World Economic Forum projects roughly 92 million roles displaced and 170 million created by 2030 — a net gain of about 78 million, though very unevenly distributed.
Source: WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025. Full breakdown →
4. Why does AI make things up?
Because it predicts likely words, not true ones. A confident, fluent, wrong answer is called a hallucination. Fluency and accuracy are separate things — which is why you verify anything that matters.
5. Do I need to know how to code?
No. The most valuable AI skill today is clear communication — describing what you want, with enough context. No maths, no programming.
6. Is it safe to put my information into AI?
It depends what you share. Never enter passwords, ID numbers, bank details, or someone else's confidential data. For ordinary tasks, used sensibly, it's a normal tool.
7. What is an AI agent?
An agent doesn't just answer — it plans and takes actions toward a goal, using tools on its own. That's the defining shift of 2026: from AI that tells you how, to AI that does it.
8. Where does AI bias come from?
Almost always from training data. If the examples lean one way, the model's predictions lean the same way. Nobody programs the unfairness in — it's inherited.
9. What are deepfakes?
Convincing fake images, video, or audio of real people, generated by AI. Two habits protect you: be sceptical of surprising media, and check the original source before believing or sharing.
10. How do I actually start learning AI?
Start with what it is, then how it learns, then how to use it — in that order. Skipping to tools without the foundation is why most people stay confused. That's exactly the order this site teaches, free.