The beginning of a new era: Artificial intelligence in oral pathology

Intelligence is one of the vital qualities of the human brain, and it has been sometimes defined as the capacity to learn and understand new things, the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly. When a machine is trained to learn and perform tasks in such a humanoid manner, it is referred to as the 'Artificial intelligence (AI)'. AI is likely to transform the way we live and work. The exponential growth of knowledge in the field of AI and its branches in the past decade has created new opportunities for its utilisation in the field of healthcare, including pathology. Successful application of these powerful tools in pathology and medicine requires cross-disciplinary literacy, including basic knowledge and understanding of concepts that have traditionally been unfamiliar to pathologists. This review provides definitions and basic knowledge of AI and its component branches such as machine learning, artificial neural networks and deep learning. This review also throws light on the possible applications of AI and the associated challenges in mainstream oral pathological research and diagnosis.