Neural networks are a type of computing system inspired by the biological neural networks of animal brains. They consist of interconnected nodes, called neurons, which process and transmit information. Neural networks are a fundamental component of deep learning, a subset of machine learning that uses neural networks with many layers to learn from large amounts of data.

Each neuron in a neural network receives input, processes it using an activation function, and passes the output to other neurons. Through this process, neural networks can learn complex patterns in data and make predictions or decisions based on the input they receive.

Neural networks are used in a wide range of applications, including image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and autonomous vehicles, among others. Their ability to learn from data and generalize to new situations makes them powerful tools for solving complex problems in AI.