How to start studying artificial intelligence, step by step
An introduction to AI: the basic principles
Artificial intelligence is a broad field taking in machine learning, deep learning and computer vision. Studying the underlying theory and concepts will help you understand how AI works. Online courses, video lessons and tutorials — many of them free — are a good place to start.
Learn to program
Picking up a programming language, and Python in particular, is a key stage. Python is the language of choice for most AI developers thanks to its flexibility and its wealth of libraries such as TensorFlow and PyTorch.
Your first AI projects
Platforms such as Kaggle let you put your knowledge to work on real problems and take part in machine learning competitions. That gives you a chance to handle real data and gain experience of solving real-world problems.
Online courses and AI specialisations
Coursera, Udacity and edX offer extensive AI courses and specialisations from leading universities and companies. These platforms go deep across a wide range of topics and offer certificates that document what you have learned.
Building your own models
Building your own machine learning models on real data deepens your knowledge and sharpens your skills. Start with simple projects such as image classification or text analysis, and work your way up to harder problems.
Conferences and hackathons
Taking part in these events improves your grasp of where AI is heading and gives you a chance to build connections with professionals and researchers in the field.
Research and publishing
Reading academic papers and publishing work of your own keeps you current with the latest advances in AI and lets you share your research with the community.
Keep learning
Artificial intelligence never stops developing. Keep your knowledge and skills current by studying regularly and exploring new technologies and methods.
In closing
Studying artificial intelligence is not easy, but it becomes far more manageable once you break it into small, achievable steps. Remember that gaining new knowledge matters less than putting it to use. Good luck with this fascinating field.
