prediction
What It Means
A prediction is simply what an AI system outputs when you give it data to analyze. It's the AI's best guess or estimate about something - whether that's identifying what's in a photo, forecasting next quarter's sales, or determining if an email is spam.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
Predictions are the core deliverable that justifies AI investments, but they're also the primary source of AI risk and liability. Poor predictions can lead to bad business decisions, regulatory violations, or discriminatory outcomes that expose the company legally and reputationally.
Real-World Example
A credit scoring AI takes an applicant's financial data and outputs a prediction of their likelihood to default - perhaps a score of 650 or a 15% probability. This single prediction directly impacts whether the bank approves the loan and at what interest rate.
Common Confusion
People often confuse predictions with facts or certainties, when they're actually probabilistic estimates that can be wrong. A prediction is not a guarantee of what will happen, but rather the AI's calculated best guess based on patterns in training data.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare AI, predictions must meet stringent accuracy and safety standards since they directly impact patient outco...
Finance: In finance, AI predictions encompass credit scoring, fraud detection, algorithmic trading decisions, and regulatory capi...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"Forecasting quantitative or qualitative outputs through function approximation, applied on input data or measurements."Source: NSCAI
"primary output of an AI system when provided with input data or information"Source: aime_measurement_2022, citing ISO/IEC 22989
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