Introduction to AI

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.