Natural language processing, or NLP, is the field of artificial intelligence (AI) focused on enabling computers to understand and use human language. By drawing on insights from linguistics and cutting edge computer science, NLP is playing an increasingly important role in helping computers understand people - and, conversely, in helping humans better navigate our increasingly digital world.
For example, NLP is essential to programming digital assistants that respond accurately to voice commands, such as Alexa or Google Home. It also enables the creation of chatbots capable of addressing common customer service inquiries. Beyond customer-facing tools, NLP is also used for sentiment analysis applications used by businesses to assess social media responses to their brand, or services capable of automatically creating clearly-written summaries of text or datasets.
Like other areas of AI and deep learning, NLP relies on machine learning (ML) algorithms organized in neural network architectures. Because neural networks mimic the structure of the human brain itself, these approaches are particularly well suited for natural language processing. And, as with other AI/ML applications, work in NLP is most commonly done in TensorFlow or Python programming.
Natural language processing is one of the trending job skills in Coursera's 2020 Global Skills Index (GSI). Download the 2020 edition of the GSI report.