Also known as machine learning or machine intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI) is a category of computer science that mimics the thought processes of the human brain. While difficult to concisely define and explain, it is multidisciplinary in both theory and practice, and has the potential to considerably improve quality of lives through its many applications. In medicine, AI is most likely to be utilized in diagnostics, risk prediction, treatments, drug research and clinical care. Not surprisingly, the rate of AI’s acceleration in application in medicine has been impressive, particularly among cognitive computing and big data analytics.