🔨 Interested in doing it yourself?
Below are some tips on how to get started with artificial intelligence and work with these algorithms yourself 👇
Collect your tools
First, you’re going to need a computer.
For beginners looking to get started right away, a basic computer that you can install software on will most likely be sufficient, although the faster the better.
If you want to try your hand at more complicated algorithms like neural nets or generative adversarial networks (GAN) you’re going to need a computer with higher processing power. Ideally, this means a computer that has a minimum of 8gb of RAM, a powerful graphics card (like the ones in NVIDIA’s GEforce 10 series), at least an Intel i5 processor, and 1tb of hard drive space.
Mice, keyboards, headphones, special mouse mats and external hard drives are optional but definitely a nice to have.
Pick a language
When it comes to AI and data science the most important thing is to be able to think computationally – that is, like a computer. So knowledge of any programming language is invaluable.
If you are new to the world of programming there are two primary languages used for machine learning and data science – Python or R.
Unless you feel strongly otherwise, I recommend starting with Python. It’s widely used in both machine learning and web development so you’re more or less doubling your time investment if you master it. Plus, it’s widely acknowledged that once you learn one language it’s easier to pick up a second (or third or fourth..) so you can always learn R later on.
If you’re new to Python, check out this guide, then get this book and play this game.
Get set up
As with any project, you’re going to want to set up your workspace before you get started. For machine learning, data science, or AI this means first installing Anaconda so you have Python on your computer. Anaconda comes preloaded with some of the most popular machine learning libraries which will help you get started right away.
It’s likely, however, that you’re going to want and/or need additional libraries. It’s a good idea to install them all at once. If you don’t you might find yourself in a situation where nothing is working and you’ll want to throw your computer out the window.
Collect your data
Before you get into the flashy stuff like making your computer write Harry Potter fanfiction or generating fake celebrity images, you’re going to need to need some data.
We’re at a time in history where more data is being produced each year than all of the data produced by humans – in all of history. So yeah, data. It’s pretty big. That’s good news for anyone looking for data to use in their own projects. This is a good place to start if you’re looking for datasets.
Just do it
When you’re ready, it’s time to start working with the algorithms themselves. Check out this guide to the most popular algorithms – you just might be surprised by what you’re able to do 🤭
