Learn · The lecture hall

Lectures on Artificial Intelligence

Eighteen free lectures, one founding paper each, from Babbage's engine in 1822 to the Transformer in 2017, and a finale that runs one text through every model in the hall, to see how far the road has come. The Professor tells the story behind each paper and works the idea out on the blackboard. You try the demos yourself, and the board checks your homework.

🎓 Walk into the lecture hall See all 19 lectures

Free and open to everyone, no sign-in. Works on a phone or a computer. Turn the sound on: the Professor talks.

Nib says: The Professor is a goblin of very few jokes and a great many chalk diagrams. Sit near the front. Ultron the cat usually takes the third row.

How a lecture works

  1. Walk inThe hall is next door to the Library. Use the button above, or turn around in the Library and go through the door behind you.
  2. Tap the ProfessorPick a lecture from the list. The Professor gives it in about three short parts, with the "tonight" topics written on the board.
  3. Play with the boardEach lecture has something to try: turn the engine's crank, set a neuron's weights, guess the next letter in Shannon's game.
  4. Do the homeworkType your answer and the blackboard checks it. There's a question to think about, and reading for later. Tap ↩ to go back to the Library.

The Library next door

What you can do there
  • Walk the shelves and take a book down
  • Read the founding papers in the rare-books case, inside the room
  • Ring the bell on the desk to ask the goblin librarian
  • Pick up the reading list from the table
  • Stoke the fire, change the weather, say hello to Mochi and Miso
Getting around
  • Drag to look around, and use the arrows to walk
  • Books marked as shared open for everyone. The rest are the owner's own copies.
  • The door behind you leads to the lecture hall, and a spiral stair to the gallery
  • One of the bookcases is more than it seems
Enter the Library →

The lectures

Tap Enter this lecture to go straight to it in the hall. Tick the boxes as you go: they're saved in this browser only.

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The Professor is finding the chalk…