Pilot Lecture: Do Computers Understand English?

Overview

Will computers one day speak with human language? What if they already do? Whoa. Mind = blown.

Uncover how—despite the ability to correct our spelling, complete our sentences, and distinguish between spam and a wanted email—computers operate without any comprehension of language.

Course Structure

01: Do Computers Understand English?

Get a thorough introduction to what artificial intelligence researchers call the language model. The statistical model allows a computer to understand that if someone is typing “I’m almost…”, then a reasonable prediction for the next word could be either “there” or “done,” while discerning that “camel” is not reasonable, without having insight or context as to what those words mean. Follow Professor Raghu Ramanujan as he builds a language model, breaks down how computers recognize spam, and dives into the problems that computers routinely deal with involving language.

Duration: 30 min