input
What It Means
Input is any data, information, or commands that come into your AI systems from outside sources. This includes everything from customer data uploaded to your platform, sensor readings from IoT devices, user queries typed into chatbots, or files imported from third-party systems. It's essentially the raw material that feeds your AI models and applications.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
Input quality directly determines AI output quality - garbage in means garbage out, affecting business decisions and customer experience. CAIOs must ensure input data governance, security, and validation since malicious or corrupted inputs can compromise entire AI systems. Poor input management creates compliance risks, especially with regulations requiring data lineage and explainable AI decisions.
Real-World Example
A retail company's AI recommendation engine receives input from multiple sources: customer purchase history from their e-commerce platform, browsing behavior from web analytics, inventory data from warehouse systems, and seasonal trend data from market research firms. If any input source contains errors or becomes compromised, the entire recommendation system produces poor suggestions, directly impacting sales and customer satisfaction.
Common Confusion
People often confuse input with training data - input is the live, real-time data flowing into operational AI systems, while training data is the historical dataset used to initially teach the model. Input happens continuously during production, whereas training typically occurs during model development phases.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare AI, input encompasses patient data from electronic health records, medical imaging files (DICOM), lab resu...
Finance: In finance, input encompasses all data fed into AI models including market data feeds, transaction records, customer fin...
Premium content locked
Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"Data received from an external source"Source: IEEE_Soft_Vocab
Discuss This Term with Your AI Assistant
Ask how "input" applies to your specific use case and regulatory context.
Start Free Trial