Autonomous Things

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What Does Autonomous Things Mean?

The term “autonomous things” is being used more and more in the technology world to talk about phenomena powered by the latest advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Autonomous things are things that work autonomously without human guidance or direct intervention.

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Techopedia Explains Autonomous Things

The emergence of autonomous things marks a key landmark in technological progress. Early examples include autonomous drones and self-driving vehicles. Expect to see more autonomous things as these kinds of technologies develop further.

Autonomous things are fundamentally important because they represent the first real untethering of machines from explicit human guidance. Humans are used to programming things, but are not used to them acting in autonomous ways. Self-driving vehicles are still making their way onto the roads. While widespread adoption of autonomous things has yet to occur, there are indications that it is coming soon.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.