Understanding How AI Works: The Human Intelligence Enterprise
Onur Yüce Gün, PhD
Director of Computational Design at New Balance | 100x Lecturer and Keynote Speaker in Computational Design and AI
In 2013, the quest to understand AI in today's rapidly transforming landscape led me to Patrick Winston's MIT course, "Human Intelligence Enterprise." Unlike typical AI courses focused on statistical models, Winston's class delved deep into human cognition and its replication in AI. This course was not about algorithms but about understanding what makes humans unique.
If you want to make the best out of Generative AI for the future of your work, I'd suggest looking at Winston's teachings.
Winston's teaching style was unconventional, emphasizing heuristic rules and natural language understanding. The course covered a broad spectrum: representation, learning, perception, problem-solving, and natural language understanding. Each topic was an academic exercise and a gateway to understanding intelligence.
As a Ph.D. student, I was part of a challenging and transformative academic environment. The class was rigorous filled with discussions, debates, and hands-on problem-solving. Winston's approach made us think beyond code and computation, pondering AI's philosophical and ethical considerations.
The course's structure was robust, covering critical areas like representation and reasoning, learning and generalization, perception and pattern recognition, problem-solving, natural language understanding, robotics, creativity, social intelligence, and philosophical considerations. It was a journey through the realms of AI, each topic opening a new perspective on understanding human intelligence.
All readings and assignments can be found here:
Winston's teachings extended beyond the classroom, influencing my thoughts on the future of AI [and that was 11 years ago].
He suggested that AI's future lies in understanding the human experience, not just in algorithms. The latter was doable, but the former was challenging. This perspective emphasized that comprehending human intelligence is vital for developing true synthetic intelligence.
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Reflecting on Winston's legacy, it's evident that understanding AI intertwines with understanding ourselves. The pursuit of AI is not merely a technological endeavor but a deep exploration of the human condition. As we progress, balancing our quest for knowledge with the richness of life experiences is crucial.
Surviving through this class and witnessing the 70 years of AI development after an unexpected wait for a decade has given me the strength to research, implement, and use Generative AI-related design tools in a real, tangible, and valuable way.
Between leading one of the most talented Computational Design teams in the industry, lecturing at international conferences, and -still- spending hours in front of the computer to discover and fill in the missing link of computation with computation, I keep doing one single thing: searching for meaning by creating.
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Entrepreneur | Founder @SecureFLO | Technologist |Cybersecurity SME| Listener| Investor
1 年Onur, thanks for sharing!
Open, Fair and Together
1 年Intriguing. Thanks.
CTO & Co-Founder at DBF
1 年Patrick Winston was one of the best teachers ever