AI has come a really long way in just a few short years. What we thought of as “LLMs” (Large Language Models) in 2023 are now much more complex, with all features (text, image, audio, video and sometimes more), built into the standard model or app. This means some older diagrams or hierarchies of types of AI might not make as much sense to novices in 2026.

Think parents, students, colleagues: how do different types of AI affect them, and what would they recognise?

I don’t think there is a perfect way to visualise AI for a novice audience, but here is an attempt. The left shows the “traditional” layers of AI, with the right showing some ways in which they are developing… all moving towards physical AI in the real world.

What Could This Be Used For?

The idea is a simple “now and next” visualisation for classes, workshops or materials. Some questions you might ask:

• Where can you see the AI you recognise?
• What’s something related to AI that you’ve experienced or are wondering about, and where does it fit?
• Where do the tools you use most frequently fit into this?
• Which types of AI might be impacting your life invisibly?