Is there a learning path for someone who hasn't done any AI/ML ever? I asked ChatGPT, it recommended to start from linear algebra, then calculus, followed by probability and statistics. Phase 2 would be Fundamentals of ML. Phase 3 - Deep Learning and NN. And so on. I don't know how accurate these suggestions are. I'm an SDE.
This isn’t the correct path to learn the basics of deep learning. Take Andrew Ngs Intro to Machine Learning and Deep Learning Coursera classes. I also hear Deep Learning by Goodfellow and company is pretty good too, although I haven’t read it myself.
If you revisit all of a standard Calculus or Linear Algebra curriculum you will WASTE time. Learn the relevant math taught in the ai courses or the beginning chapters of deep learning books, not the irrelevant 90% of each introductory course. I say this as someone who actually used to build neural networks from scratch around 10 years ago and lost interest.
While I much prefer Linear Algebra over Calculus, I feel that a good, properly done course on Linear Algebra requires a certain level of mathematical maturity best forged through a course in Calculus.
Also, if you know Calculus you can dive into approximation theory (e.g: Padé Approximations), which is a beautiful subject that lies in the intersection of Calculus and Linear Algebra.
In any case "Schaum's Outline of Linear Algebra" is probably _the_ best book on Linear Algebra I've ever read. It even touches on bits of Abstract Algebra.
> Is there a learning path for someone who hasn't done any AI/ML ever?
It highly depends on what do you actually want.
1. Use existing models. The easiest is web services (mostly payed). Harder way is local install, still need a good computer
2. Understand how models work
3. General understanding where all this is going.
4. Being able to train or finetune existing models
4.1 Create some sort of framework for models generation
4.2 frameworks for testing, training, inference, etc..
5. Models design. They are very different depending on the domain. You will have to specialize if you want to get deeper.
6. Get AGI finally.
All things are different. Some require just following the news, some need coding skills, others more theory, philosophy. You can't have it all. If you have no relevant skill the first 4 are still withing the reach. Oh, yes. You can become ethic 'expert', that's the easiest.
Could you elaborate a little more on the “ChatGPT’s recommendations” part? Do you mean asking ChatGPT how to build or something else? I have 0 clue about AI/ML as well. I feel like the world has left me behind and all I know is REST APIs and some basic GraphQL.
ChatGPT's recommendation to learn statistics/calculus serve as a foundation for learning machine learning since it utilizes concepts from the above subjects (e.g if you understand derivates/slope, you'll understand inherently how gradient descent works).
If you just want to tinker around with models and try it out, feel free to go into it without much math knowledge and just learn them as you go. ChatGPT's recommendation is great if you have a multiyear horizon/plan to be in ML (e.g. perfect for a college student who can take courses in stats/ML side by side) or have plenty of time.
I have a lot of experience using and building APIs, and I do want to switch to ML/AI in this space but I have no clue how. I don’t really care much about building them from scratch, but I want to be able to read code bases and comprehend it. So I guess a middle ground between using it and building it.
GP> ChatGPT recommended to start from linear algebra, then calculus, followed by probability and statistics. Phase 2 would be Fundamentals of ML. Phase 3 - Deep Learning and NN. And so on.
Parent> If you want to learn to BUILD AI, ChatGPT's recommendations are a good start
Try Andrej Karpathy’s zero to hero course. It’s very good. It’s 8 video lectures where you follow along in your own Jupyter notebook. Each lecture is 1-2 hours.
I would really like to know some course or roadmap for getting into AI/ML as a student.All the courses i found assume that you already know bunch of things.
