Artificial intelligence. It’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot. But what are we really talking about?

“Artificial intelligence is not one thing. It’s not a single technology. It’s a term that is applied to all sorts of technologies that vaguely behave like the human brain, and in some cases, aren’t even close to behaving like the human brain,” said Cade Metz, a technology correspondent covering artificial intelligence at The New York Times and author of the book “Genius Makers: the Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook and the World.”

When the artificial intelligence field was created in the 1950s, the aim was to mimic human intelligence. Today, some researchers believe we’re already there or really close. But the thing is, there’s still lots about human intelligence we don’t understand.

On the show today, we’re going to get smart about the state of AI as Metz walks us through how far AI has come, where it’s at, where it’s headed and what it has to do with cat photos!

In the News Fix, Russia is saying the quiet part out loud, and an important marker in the ongoing aftermath of Jan. 6 insurrection.

Then, we’ll hear from a new mom about quiet quitting, and what happened after one listener switched Siri’s voice to the one that sounds like Kimberly. Plus, a TikTok finance wiz answers the Make Me Smart question.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “A.I. Is Not Sentient. Why Do People Say It Is?” from The New York Times

• “The ABCs of AI, algorithms and machine learning” from “Marketplace Tech”

• “Art Made With Artificial Intelligence Wins at State Fair” from Smithsonian Magazine

• “More Than 1 In 2 Americans Will Have An Election Denier On The Ballot This Fall” from FiveThirtyEight

• “Russia has cut off gas supplies to Europe indefinitely. Here’s what you need to know” from CNBC

• “Couy Griffin: New Mexico county commissioner removed from elected office for role in US Capitol riot” from CNN

Join us tomorrow for Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday. If you’ve got a question you’d like us to answer, email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave a voice message at 508-U-B-SMART.