Difference Between Causal AI and Predictive AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in recent years, with applications ranging from recommendation engines to autonomous vehicles. However, a critical distinction is emerging in the field: Causal AI vs. Predictive AI . While both involve data-driven insights, they serve very different purposes and operate on fundamentally different principles. What Is Predictive AI? Predictive AI focuses on forecasting outcomes based on patterns in historical data. It uses statistical correlations to predict what is likely to happen in the future. For example, a predictive model might forecast a customer’s likelihood to churn based on their usage history, or predict the sales for next quarter using past performance and market trends. At the heart of predictive AI are algorithms like regression models, decision trees, and neural networks that are optimized for accuracy. These models learn from data but typically do not understand or infer the underlying cause of an outcome....