Machine-learning algorithms use statistics to find patterns in massive* amounts of data. And data, here, encompasses a lot of things—numbers, words, images, clicks, what have you.

To clear things up, I drew you this flowchart on the back of an envelope so you can work out whether something is using AI or not. This originally appeared in our AI newsletter The Algorithm.

Entrepreneurs are using the loquacious GPT-3 to auto-generate emails, talk to customers, and even write computer code. But some uses of the program have also demonstrated its darker potential .