The role of linguistics in artificial intelligence (AI)

Abstract

In this paper, I analyse the contributions of the Natural Language Processing (NLP) perspective to the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is divided into four main sections. In the first one, I introduce a brief and general conceptualisation of AI, aiming to indicate the place of NLP in the general perspectives of AI. In the second section, I analyse the theoretical linguistic elements that played a relevant role in the evolution of NLP. In the third section, I introduce the relationships between computation and natural language analysis to provide a general concept of their connection. Finally, in the fourth section, I introduce a brief characterisation of Large Language Models (LLMs), Foundational Models (FMs) and their relations with NLP. So, this paper aims to provide a general perspective of this complex field, emphasising the milestone issues.