Beginning Artificial Intelligence Through Neuroscience (Synchronous e-learning)

Neuroscience helped inspire deep learning, which is the basis of AI technologies such as speech recognition by personal digital assistants and face recognition for access control, and is being developed for applications such as assisted interpretation of medical images and scene analysis by self-driving cars. Organised by the Department of Physiology, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, this course introduces the relevant neuroscience, including the function and connectivity of the cerebral cortex, which is used to motivate the architecture of deep learning artificial neural networks. Participants will learn the mathematical and statistical concepts needed to fit models to data; beginning with simple examples such as linear regression and binary classification, followed by the application of these principles to train deep learning models. We will briefly indicate their extension to newer models, such as the transformers that underlie large language models like ChatGPT. There will be opportunities for participants to experience hands-on coding with some common AI tools. The outlook for and potential pitfalls of AI will also be examined and discussed.