Schedule
What we cover each week, with the resources and assignment for it.
Week 0: Course Overview, Prerequisite Knowledge
Purpose#
- Get acquainted with the course
- Learn some of the pre-reqs necessary (Python, calculus, linear algebra)
Resources#
Python Resources:
Math Resources:
- Linear Algebra Review and Reference (Just Unit 1)
- Vector Basics
- Hyperplane Definition
- Hyperplane Math
- Partial Derivatives (Mathematical)
- Partial Derivatives (Graphical)
Assignment#
IMPORTANT!: If you already know a topic, DO NOT waste your time re-doing it. This week is just to refresh your mind
That being said, if you are unfamiliar with most of the items here, focus on Python and be sure to ask lots of questions!
Python Assignments:
- Complete units in the CS50x Intro to Python Course as needed (If you are confident, feel free to skip a section). I recommend:
- 0: Functions, Variables
- 1: Conditionals
- 2: Loops
- 4: Libraries
- 9: Et Cetera
- Read through CS231n Notes, focusing on:
- Containers
- Numpy
- MatPlotLib
Math Assignments:
- Read/Watch provided resources to learn/refresh your math knowledge.
- If you are already familiar with the concepts listed above, feel free to skip them. I would, however, reccomend you explore linear algebra in high dimensional spaces (specifically hyperplanes) and revisit partial derivatives.
Summary Questions#
- What topics did you learn this week (Python or math)?
Week 1: Introduction to Machine Learning
Purpose#
An introduction to the foundation of modern AI!
- Introduction to Machine Learning (ML)
- Math behind Linear Regression, SVM, PCA
- Basic Unsupervised Clustering
Resources#
Assignment#
- Complete Unit 1 (synthesis questions included)
- Either Scikit-Learn ML Technical-Project (in the unit)
- Or Non-Technical Writing Project (bottom of the unit)
Summary Questions#
- Synthesis questions in the unit
Week 2: Basic Neuroanatomy
Purpose#
Welcome to a beginner’s introduction to neuroscience! We will
- Learn several basic regions of the brain
- Learn fundamentals of the neuron and biological computation
- Begin to hypothesize about the parallels and divergences of machine learning and the brain
Resources#
Assignment#
- Complete Unit 2 (synthesis questions included)
- Basic Neuroanatomy Project (LaTeX template in github)
Summary Questions#
- Synthesis questions in the unit
Week 3: Introduction to Neural Networks
Purpose#
Our first foray into more complex networks and how they learn.
- Introduction to Deep Learning (DL)
- Introduction to Neural Networks
- Introduction to Backpropagation
Resources#
- Unit 3: Deep Learning
- CS231n Notes on Neural Networks. See Module 1: Neural Networks - great written resource for the basics.
Assignment#
- Complete Unit 3 (synthesis questions included)
- Basic MNIST Classifier (in the unit)
Summary Questions#
- Synthesis questions in the unit
Week 4: Convolutional Neural Networks
Week 5: The Visual System
Purpose#
This week we take a small break from computation and return to the brain, specifically your insanely complex and elegant visual system! We will
- Learn the basic anatomical and functional regions of the visual system
- Compare biological solutions to visual tasks with computational solutions
Resources#
Week 6: Reinforcement Learning
Week 7: AI Ethics
Week 8: Language Modeling
Purpose#
- Learn about word embeddings
- Learn about Recurrent Neural Networks
- Learn about Transformers
- Learn about fine-tuning foundation models like GPT
- Gain a basic intuition about transformer and language models
Resources#
Assignment#
- Complete Unit 8 (synthesis questions included)
- HuggingFace Project Part 1 (in the unit)
- HuggingFace Project Part 2 (in the unit)
Summary Questions#
- Synthesis questions in the unit
Week 9: Certificates
Purpose#
- Certificates!
- Celebrate your good work