Demystifying Artificial Intelligence and Big Data: How Technology is Shaping Our World
ThursdayS October 23 to December 11 10:00 am to 12 noon
ZOOM Session
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Reading List (Lectures 1 - 3)
Reading List (Lectures 5 & 6)
Reading List Lecture 7
References for Lecture 8
Presenter: Dr. Steve Engels
Course Overview: This course provides a guide to the world of AI and Big Data, starting from the fundamental AI concepts in everyday life to the latest advancements and future directions. Explore big data concepts like "free" services, user modeling, privacy and security. Learn about cutting-edge AI developments in machine learning and generative AI, in an accessible environment for both avid techies and complete novices alike.
The fields of AI and Big Data are advancing rapidly, with far-reaching implications. This course will introduce knowledge to help navigate this evolving technological landscape. Attendees will learn about the impact of AI on daily life and society as a whole, to help further future conversations on the benefits and challenges posed by AI.
October 23: History of AI and Big Data - Discover the fascinating history and various disciplines of AI. Learn the basics of Big Data and how it connects to modern AI. Understand the basic domain of AI and the high-level benefits and risks.
October 30: AI Fundamentals - Dive into traditional AI techniques, which form the fundamental base of AI operations. Includes topics such as search algorithms, game AI, and knowledge representation.
November 6: Robotics - Explore how real-world AI systems perceive the world through voice recognition, language processing, and computer vision, including self-driving cars and robotic humanoids.
November 13: Learning - Understand modern approaches to data-driven AI, which learns its understanding and interactions with the world. Learn about techniques such as reinforcement learning, supervised and unsupervised learning, including neural network architecture
November 20: Large Language Models - Uncover the technology behind AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, their applications, and their limitations.
November 27: Artificial Creativity - Delve into the world of generative art, music, video and design. Learn the current abilities and limitations of these generative technologies.
December 4: Big Data - Grasp the significance of big data, how it’s collected, and how patterns are discovered within it. Explore crowdsourcing and the Internet of Things (IoT). Discover practical applications of big data in AI, such as protein structure prediction and user modeling, and discuss issues of data bias and discrimination.
December 11: Safety & Privacy - Address critical topics in AI safety, privacy concerns, and the potential future impacts of AI.
Committtee Contact: Jane Botsford
Dr. Steve Engels is a Professor, Teaching Stream in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. Steve came to the University of Toronto at the end of 2002, and has recently been teaching courses in computer hardware, artificial intelligence, and video game design. Steve’s research interests: game design & programming, educational game design, artificial creativity (e.g. automatic music generation), open data and artificial intelligence applications.
