LLM and AI Glossary

All the important Artificial Intelligence (AI) and LLM terms that you should know. This is our comprehensive AI and LLM glossary curated by experts.

A.

AI Agents (Agentic AI)

Autonomous systems capable of planning, reasoning, memory usage, and executing multi-step workflows using tools and APIs.

AutoML (Automated Machine Learning)

Automates model building, feature selection, and hyperparameter tuning.

Anomaly Detection

Identifies rare or unusual patterns in datasets.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Enhances real-world environments with digital overlays.

Attention Mechanism

Allows models to focus on relevant parts of input for better predictions.

AI Alignment

Ensures AI systems behave according to human values and intent.

B.

Bias Mitigation

Techniques to reduce unfairness in AI outcomes.

Bayesian Networks

Probabilistic models for reasoning under uncertainty.

BigGAN

A scalable GAN architecture for high-quality image generation.

Blockchain for AI

Combines decentralized trust with AI data pipelines.

C.

Chatbots / Conversational AI

AI systems that simulate human-like conversations.

Context Window

Maximum input size an LLM can process at once.

Continual Learning

Learning new tasks without forgetting old ones.

Cognitive Computing

AI mimicking human reasoning.

Contrastive Learning

Learns representations by comparing data samples.

Chain-of-Thought Prompting (CoT)

Improves reasoning by guiding step-by-step outputs.

D.

Deep Learning

Multi-layer neural networks for complex pattern recognition.

Deepfake Technology

AI-generated synthetic media.

Data-Centric AI

Focus on improving datasets instead of models.

Data Engineering

Pipeline design for collecting and preparing data.

Data Science

Extracting insights from structured/unstructured data.

Diffusion Models

Generative models used in image/video synthesis.

E.

Edge AI / Edge Computing

Running AI locally on devices instead of cloud.

Explainable AI (XAI)

Making AI decisions interpretable.

Elastic Weight Consolidation (EWC)

Prevents forgetting in continual learning.

Ensemble Learning

Combining models to improve performance.

Evidential Deep Learning

Models that estimate uncertainty in predictions.

Embeddings

Vector representations capturing semantic meaning.

F.

Fine-Tuning

Adapting pre-trained models for specific use cases.

Frontier AI

State-of-the-art, highly capable AI systems.

Foundation Models

Large pre-trained models reusable across tasks.

Federated Learning

Decentralized model training without sharing raw data.

Few-Shot Learning

Learning with very limited examples.

Function Calling (LLMs)

Enabling models to interact with APIs/tools.

G.

Generative AI (GenAI)

AI that creates content (text, images, code, audio).

Gaussian Processes

Probabilistic models with uncertainty estimation.

Grounded AI

Connecting outputs to real-world data.

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs)

Models for graph-structured data.

GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks)

Dual-network systems for realistic generation.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

High-performance processors optimized for parallel computation, essential for training and running large AI and deep learning models.

H.

Hybrid AI

Combines symbolic reasoning and neural networks.

Hallucinations (LLMs)

Confident but incorrect outputs.

Hallucination Detection

Techniques to identify false AI outputs.

Hyperparameter Tuning

Optimizing training configurations.

Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning

Breaking tasks into structured sub-tasks.

I.

Interpretability

Understanding how models make decisions.

Image Segmentation

Dividing images into meaningful regions.

Instruction Tuning

Training models to follow human instructions.

Instance-Based Learning

Using stored examples for prediction.

Implicit Neural Representation

Continuous data modeling using neural networks.

Inference

Generating predictions using trained models.

J.

Joint Probability

Probability of multiple events occurring together.

Jitter Regularization

Noise addition to prevent overfitting.

JAX

Accelerated machine learning framework.

Joint Embedding Architecture

Shared vector space for multiple data types.

K.

K-Anonymity

Privacy technique ensuring indistinguishable records.

Kernel Trick

Transforms linear models to solve non-linear problems.

Knowledge Graphs

Structured data linking entities and relationships.

Knowledge Distillation

Compressing large models into smaller ones.

L.

Logistic Regression

Binary classification algorithm.

Latent Diffusion Models

Efficient image generation models.

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Models trained on massive text corpora.

LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation)

Efficient fine-tuning approach.

Latent Space

Compressed feature representation.

LLMOps

Operational practices for deploying, monitoring, and governing LLMs in production.

M.

Meta-Learning

Learning how to learn new tasks quickly.

Model Overfitting

Poor generalization due to memorization.

Model Drift

Performance degradation over time.

Multi-Modal AI

AI handling text, image, audio, and video together.

N.

Normalizing Flows

Transform simple distributions into complex ones.

Neural Networks

Brain-inspired computational models.

Neuro-Symbolic AI

Combining logic and learning.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Language understanding and generation.

NeRF (Neural Radiance Fields)

3D scene reconstruction from images.

O.

Optimization

Improving model parameters.

One-Shot Learning

Learning from a single example.

Ontology-Based AI

Structured reasoning using domain knowledge.

Out-of-Distribution Detection

Identifying unfamiliar data inputs.

Open-Weight Models

Publicly available trained models.

Orchestration (AI Workflows)

Managing multi-step AI pipelines and agent workflows.

P.

Prompt Engineering

Designing inputs for better AI outputs.

Precision & Recall

Model evaluation metrics.

PCA (Principal Component Analysis)

Dimensionality reduction method.

PPO (Proximal Policy Optimization)

RL algorithm used in LLM alignment.

PEFT (Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning)

Efficient model adaptation.

PromptOps

Managing prompt lifecycle in production environments.

Q.

Q-Learning

Reinforcement learning technique.

Quantum Machine Learning

ML integrated with quantum computing.

Quantization-Aware Training

Preparing models for low-precision deployment.

R.

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

Combining retrieval systems with LLMs.

Reinforcement Learning (RL)

Learning via rewards and feedback.

Representation Learning

Learning meaningful data features.

Residual Networks (ResNet)

Deep networks with skip connections.

RLHF (Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback)

Aligning models with human preferences.

S.

Semantic Search

Search based on meaning and intent.

Structured Prediction

Predicting structured outputs.

Self-Supervised Learning

Learning from unlabeled data.

Support Vector Machine (SVM)

Classification algorithm.

Synthetic Data

Artificial data for training models.

T.

Tokenization

Splitting text into tokens.

Transformers

Core architecture behind modern LLMs.

Transfer Learning

Reusing knowledge across tasks.

TTFT (Time to First Token)

Latency metric in LLM responses.

Tree-Based Models (LightGBM, CatBoost)

Efficient decision-tree algorithms.

U.

Underfitting

Model too simple to learn patterns.

Unsupervised Pretraining

Learning from unlabeled datasets.

V.

Vector Databases

Storage optimized for embeddings and similarity search.

Vision Transformers (ViTs)

Transformers applied to image data.

Variational Autoencoders (VAEs)

Generative latent-variable models.

Vanishing Gradient Problem

Training difficulty in deep networks.

W.

Weight Sharing

Reusing parameters across layers.

Word Embeddings

Numerical representation of language.

Weak Supervision

Training using imperfect labels.

Whisper (Speech-to-Text Model)

Multilingual speech recognition system.

X.

Xformers

Efficient transformer implementations.

XGBoost

Popular gradient boosting algorithm.

XAI Dashboards

Visualization tools for AI explainability.

Y.

YOLO (You Only Look Once)

Real-time object detection system.

YAML Pipelines

Configuration-based ML workflows.

Yield Prediction Models

AI in agriculture forecasting outputs.

Z.

Zero-Shot Learning

Performing tasks without training examples.

Z-Score Normalization

Standardizing data distributions.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP)

Verifying data without revealing it.

Zeno++

Fault-tolerant distributed ML training.