AI or Algorithm?

Are all these chat, search, and art AI really artificial intelligence or just software that’s been coded/engineered to better use algorithms? I’m a GenX’r so I grew up watching movies and reading sci-fi books that showed AI making decisions on its own and coming up with something outside of what it was designed for. Leave out the doom and gloom Skynet aspect…although I understand that should be a concern of AI research.

Before all the AI talk, we talked about algorithms. How algorithms get better the more people use them and it has access to user input, i.e. search engine results. ChatGPT and the AI art bots just seem to me like better algorithms results. But I’d say better doesn’t mean usable. I mean look at what’s going on with Bing right now.

I looked up the definitions of artificial intelligence and algorithm. I can see how they can be interchangeable when someone is trying to explain their AI or algorithm software. But the longer I think about it I think the algorithm definite better describes what we currently have right now, not talking about the future. But these AI software really are finite no? They can’t function with our human input, human created data. Without the human created data they can’t come up with their text or art.

Am I completely wrong?