Definition
Markov chain
A model of a sequence of events where the odds of what happens next depend only on the current state, not on how you got there.
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Related terms in AI Fundamentals
Local modelA model running on your own hardware or private infrastructure, so the data never leaves the building.Long-Term Conversational MemoryA technical capability that allows an AI agent to retain context across multiple sessions over days, weeks, or months - referencing prior conversations, tracking commitments made, and building a longitudinal understanding of the user. Distinct from in-session context (which resets after a conversation ends), long-term memory enables genuinely cumulative relationships. In accountability products like Commitify, this capability is the core retention mechanism: the value increases with each call because the AI remembers what you said last time and can follow up on specific commitments.Loss functionThe formula that scores how wrong a model's predictions are. Training is the process of driving that score down.Machine learning (ML)The branch of AI where computers learn patterns from data and improve at a task without being explicitly programmed with rules.ML modelA custom machine learning model trained on your own data, as distinct from a general-purpose LLM. More expensive and data-hungry to build, but harder to replicate because the training data is proprietary.ModelIn AI, the trained system that takes an input and produces an output, like a prediction, classification, or generated text.Model agnosticNot tied to one underlying AI model — able to route the same task across many models depending on cost, speed, or capability.Model CardA standardized documentation artifact that accompanies a machine learning model, reporting performance metrics broken down by demographic group and intersectional group. Used to detect and disclose bias before deployment.