Understanding the AI Environment

The environment in AI is the world in which an agent operates.
It provides inputs (perceptions) to the agent and receives outputs (actions) in response.

Environments can be:

• Static or Dynamic – whether they change while the agent acts.
• Discrete or Continuous – whether possible states are countable or infinite.
• Observable or Partially Observable – whether the agent can fully see the environment’s state.

For example, a chessboard is a discrete, deterministic, and fully observable environment, while driving a car is dynamic and partially observable.
Understanding the environment type is crucial for designing the right AI architecture.