Introduction to AI

Sep 28 Thu 28th Sep 2023
11am – Thu 19th Oct 2023, 1pm EDT (UTC -04:00)
4 sessions
 
Online
 
https://dandelion.events/e/intro-to-ai
Promoted by The Psychedelic Society
Activity Technology
Facilitators
Attending
36+ people
Enquiries to stephen@stephenreid.net
Add to calendar Google · ICS
QR code

From the creator of the highly acclaimed How to DAO, The Promise of Decentralisation, Life as Practice & Introduction to web3 courses

Join Stephen Reid, teacher, technologist and creator of Dandelion, for a highly practical, four-week deep dive into the promise and pitfalls of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning 🦾

The course is suitable for enthusiastic beginners but will also be of interest to those with some expertise in the area seeking to connect with likeminded others. It will take place 4pm–6pm UK time/5pm–7pm Europe time on four consecutive Thursdays via Zoom:

  • Thursday 28th September 2023
  • Thursday 5th October 2023
  • Thursday 12th October 2023
  • Thursday 19th October 2023

You will be sent pre-reading/watching a few days before each session (allow 1 hour), and homework at the end of each session (allow 1 hour). To get the most out of the course you should also set aside at least 2 hours per session to go back through the notes, read some of the links provided and make sure you understand everything we've covered. So that's a minimum of 6 hours per session for maximum benefit (2 hours live, 1 hour pre-reading/watching, 2 hours revision, 1 hour homework). If you are an absolute beginner it is particularly important to do all the above.

Sessions will be recorded and shared (so you can catch up if you're late/miss one), and every participant will be offered a short private consultation during the course.

Course schedule

The schedule is subject to change to ensure maximal relevance in this fast-changing space.

Session 1: Fundamentals of AI

  • A brief history of AI
    • The Deep Learning Revolution, Artificial Neural Networks and Generative Adversarial Networks
    • Reinforcement Learning and RLHF
    • Transformers: Attention Is All You Need
    • GPUs, Big Data and the Triple Exponential
  • Key players in AI
  • Recommended podcasts and news sources
  • Hugging Face, Interactive Python Notebooks and Github Copilot

Session 2: Large Language Models (LLMs) and other text models

  • Understanding ChatGPT through NanoGPT
  • Prompt engineering
  • Embeddings
  • Character.ai and Replika
  • Open source LLMs

Session 3: Multimodal AI

  • Midjourney and AI image generation
  • Runway, D-ID and AI video
  • ElevenLabs and AI voice
  • MusicLM and AI music
  • ELSA, Socratic and AI learning

Session 4: AI Futures

  • General intelligence (AGI) v Superintelligence (ASI)
  • The Alignment Problem
  • Max Tegmark's 12 Scenarios: Libertarian utopia, Benevolent dictator, Egalitarian utopia, Gatekeeper, Protector god, Enslaved god, Conquerors, Descendants, Zookeeper, 1984, Reversion & Self-destruction
  • If You’re Driving Off a Cliff, Do You Need a Faster Car? AI, Moloch and regulation

About Stephen

Stephen Reid is a facilitator, coach and Ruby/Python developer devoted to the flourishing of Life on Earth who has trained in the fields of complexity science, physics, transformative coaching, meditation and plant medicine. He is currently completing the UC Berkeley Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, working with Supermodular on metacrisis.xyz, leading the development of the Dandelion platform for regenerative events and co-created gatherings, and hosting the Futurecraft Residencies.

Previously, he founded The Psychedelic Society, taught the Life as Practice, How to DAO, Tools for the Regenerative Renaissance, The Promise of Decentralisation & Introduction to web3 courses, served as the youngest ever board member of Greenpeace UK, and consulted for organisations including the New Economics Foundation, the Living Wage Foundation and 350.org. Stephen has an MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford, where he specialised in quantum field theory, and an MRes in Complexity Science from the University of Bristol.

Select tickets

This event started almost 2 years ago

Notes and recordings £200
Apply a code
Add a donation to The Psychedelic Society
£

Become a member for discounts to almost all our events

Total
£

Your details

By proceeding you agree to the terms and conditions of Dandelion and The Psychedelic Society and understand this event is organised by Stephen Reid, who takes financial and legal responsibility for the event.

Add Direct Debit info to become a member of The Psychedelic Society (UK only)

Feedback on Technology events

4.8/5 from 73 ratings
The course is incredibly well put together, with a comprehensive notes document that serves as a valuable reference material with many helpful links. Participants appreciated Stephen's warm and approachable facilitation style, as he navigated the technical aspects of AI in an easy-to-follow manner. The breadth of topics covered, spanning different uses of AI, was seen as a real plus. Participants found the willingness to go into the maths and computer science behind AI important, as it helped them understand the behavior of more user-friendly AI applications. Overall, this was a super worthwhile experience that participants would highly recommend.
about a year ago
This course is incredibly well put together. The notes document that we were given access to is an absolute goldmine of information, with many links to extra resources that I’m continuing to benefit from. Stephen’s facilitation style is warm and approachable, and although he didn’t shy away from the more technical sides of AI, he always did so in ways that were easy enough to follow. All round a super worthwhile experience that I would highly recommend.
about a year ago
I loved the course, learnt a load, astounded myself by how easy it was to access the world of AI with some simple tools, and this course sits beautifully alongside Stephen's previous courses I have taken.
about a year ago
2 years ago
Awesome level of detail within the workbook.
2 years ago
The topic is so vast I think 4 weeks might be too short!
2 years ago
I'm thankful for Stephen's comprehensive and thoughtfully prepared Introduction to AI course. I'm particularly impressed by the course structure and extensive notes, providing numerous avenues for further research.
2 years ago
3 years ago
It is a very informative course and Stephen is a knowledgable, enthusiastic and dedicated teacher. I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in exploring crypto, ReFi and or Web3.
3 years ago
This course is a cornucopia of inspiration. There is little mainstream appreciation for the colossal amount of development which has already taken place in this rebirth of the internet. Stephen opens our eyes to web3 in a structured and enjoyable way, and gives us a tantalising taste of what is out there. Highly recommended.
3 years ago
This was a fantastic course with a deeply knowledgeable instructor. Thank you so much!