Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Thanks to more powerful hardware and a new generation of learning algorithms, artificial intelligence is supporting the automation of a number of tasks and activities that are changing the job landscape as much as they have impacted on our everyday life. The first part of the chapter introduces artificial intelligence from its origins: its definition and its main research and application areas. The nature and the importance of machine learning for artificial intelligence applications are presented in the second part of the chapter. Existing approaches to machine learning are also classified and illustrated. The third part describes artificial intelligence tools and solutions by supported functionalities and automated tasks. Cases of applications in tourism are provided, from the best known and widely adopted, e.g., personal assistants, to the most challenging, i.e., semantic systems. Future trends and risks related to the applications of artificial intelligence are considered in the last part of the chapter.