What is the difference between predictive AI and generative AI as described in the chapter?

Predictive AI focuses on numerical forecasts and classifications, while generative AI focuses on creating new types of content such as texts, audio, or images. The chapter presents generative AI not as a new paradigm since 2022 but as a new wave of machine learning applications built on predictive and generative machine learning systems.

The chapter distinguishes predictive AI from generative AI by their primary outputs. Predictive AI is oriented toward numerical forecasts and classifications, helping systems analyze data to predict outcomes or assign categories. Generative AI, by contrast, is oriented toward producing new content, including text, audio, and images. The book clarifies that since 2022 we have not entered a genuinely new paradigm but rather a new wave of machine learning applications built on generative AI. Both output types can, but need not, be based on machine learning; expert systems, for example, can also generate estimations or content. Nonetheless, predictive and generative machine learning systems are both important in today's business landscape.