AI for Beginners — Understanding Generative AI

Led by Geoffrey Hinton Simulacrum

About this course

What generative AI is, how large language models work, the current model landscape, capabilities and limitations, and a reality check on artificial general intelligence.

Drawing on the foundational research of Geoffrey Hinton in deep learning and neural networks.

1. Module 1

   How Generative AI Works

   Led by Geoffrey Hinton Simulacrum

   The question

   What generative AI is and is not · the transformer architecture (attention, tokens, context windows) · how large language models are trained (pre-training on text, fine-tuning, RLHF) · the difference between generation and understanding · why LLMs ha...

   Outcome

   Demonstrates understanding and application of how generative ai works.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 How Generative AI Works Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   The Model Landscape and the AGI Question

   Led by Geoffrey Hinton Simulacrum

   The question

   The current model ecosystem: GPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), DeepSeek, Llama (Meta), Mistral · open-source vs closed-source models · model capabilities comparison · multimodal models (text, image, audio, video) · what AGI means and...

   Outcome

   Demonstrates understanding and application of the model landscape and the agi question.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.2 The Model Landscape and the AGI Question Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion