# Narrow AI / specialized AI

Record: term-narrow-ai · Type: term · Edition: 0.20.0 · Evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15

[Read in the atlas](https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/narrow-ai/) · [Complete evidence](https://theaiatlas.org/evidence.html#idea-narrow-ai) · [JSON](https://theaiatlas.org/records/term-narrow-ai.json) · [Pinned complete dataset](https://theaiatlas.org/editions/e74392d479c0e7da8636a7d6a0454d03510df86ffca9931eb86babd952665ca5/data.json)

Dataset pointer: `/glossary/137`. Reviewed: 2026-09-15.

> This is a curated, AI-assisted editorial atlas, not a census, affiliation classifier or independently fact-checked authority.

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## Publication dates and source age

Source is over 18 months old.

Newest dated source: 2023-11-04. Assessed at this edition’s evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Publication age does not establish validity or a new source-reading date. Unknown dates and month/year precision remain explicit in the JSON record.

## /summary

AI for a limited task or set of tasks. Specialized software can perform very well within that scope.

Claim: claim-term-narrow-ai-1a5192ba3d7825ca26b24a72. Annotation: synthesis.

[agi-levels](https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02462)

## /definition

Narrow describes breadth, not quality. A research framework separates how many kinds of tasks a system handles from how well it performs them.

Claim: claim-term-narrow-ai-1e4c26398ee834b2e16dc7b8. Annotation: synthesis.

[agi-levels](https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02462)

## /placement

Map context: keep specialist performance separate from claims about general intelligence.

Claim: claim-term-narrow-ai-25f52a21ad9f2e54a62ed1b2. Annotation: editorial.

[agi-levels](https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02462)

## /distinction

Breadth, performance and autonomy are different questions. Strong task results do not determine how much control an application should receive.

Claim: claim-term-narrow-ai-09422ce4d5c74cb753a9bb98. Annotation: synthesis.

[agi-levels](https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02462)

## Source provenance

### agi-levels

[Levels of AGI for Operationalizing Progress on the Path to AGI](https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.02462)

Meredith Ringel Morris and coauthors / arXiv · First-hand source (primary) · Published: 2023-11-04 · Updated: 2025-09-24 · Material last read: 2026-09-15 · Verification: read

Read scope is described in the source note.

Read abstract, Table 1 and autonomy discussion. Proposed distinctions between breadth, performance and autonomy; no current model classification adopted.

No archive check recorded.