Usman Salis
⬤ Public attention fixates on ChatGPT and similar generative tools, but these flashy applications represent just the tip of a massive technological iceberg. A new visualization demonstrates that what most people recognize as "AI" barely scratches the surface of what the field actually encompasses. The AI Iceberg framework breaks down the technology into visible and invisible layers, revealing that the tools everyone talks about sit on top of far more sophisticated systems doing the heavy lifting.
⬤ The surface layer includes generative AI—which produces text, images and code—plus AI agents that handle scheduling and workflow automation. These are the faces of AI that consumers interact with daily. But the submerged portion, representing roughly 90% of the iceberg, contains the real infrastructure: machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, predictive analytics, computer vision and natural language processing. These technologies form the backbone that makes surface-level applications possible.
The real innovation is happening in these deeper layers, where systems are trained, optimized and scaled long before they appear in accessible applications.
⬤ Agentic AI—systems that independently plan and execute tasks—depends entirely on deep learning architectures and massive neural networks operating behind the scenes. Speech recognition, predictive modeling and computer vision power everything from factory automation to medical diagnostics, yet remain largely invisible to end users. This hidden infrastructure represents where actual breakthroughs occur, where models learn from billions of data points and where the next generation of capabilities gets built.
⬤ The iceberg framework matters because it shifts how companies think about AI strategy. Organizations now realize they can't just bolt on generative tools and call it transformation. They need to evaluate the entire stack—from data pipelines to neural network architectures—to build sustainable AI capabilities. The visualization makes clear that while ChatGPT grabs headlines, the technologies supporting it represent the true evolution of artificial intelligence shaping how businesses prepare for what comes next.
Usman Salis
