Letters from Andrew Ng

Today DeepLearning.AI is launching the Mathematics for Machine Learning and Data Science Specialization, taught by the world-class AI educator Luis Serrano. In my courses, when it came to math, I’ve sometimes said, “Don’t worry about it.” So why are we offering courses on that very subject?

Activities such as writing code and solving math problems are often perceived as purely intellectual pursuits. But this ignores the fact that they involve the mental equivalent of muscle memory.

How much math do you need to know to be a machine learning engineer? It’s always nice to know more math! But there’s so much to learn that, realistically, it’s necessary to prioritize.

Around the world, students are graduating. If you’re one of them, or if someone close to you is graduating, congratulations!!! My family swapped pictures on WhatsApp recently and came across this one...

I have a two-year-old daughter, and am expecting my son to be born later this week. When I think about what we can do to build a brighter future for our children, the most important thing is to create a foundation for education.

Engineers need strong technical skills to be successful. But many underestimate the importance of developing strong communication skills as well.

My father recently celebrated a milestone: He has completed 146 online courses since 2012. His studies have spanned topics from creative writing to complexity theory. Ronald Ng is a great example of lifelong learning.

I’ve been trying to teach my toddler the alphabet. Despite having some educational experience, when she mispronounces a vowel for the nth time, I can’t help but feel like I’m doing it wrong.

I spoke on Tuesday at Coursera’s annual conference. It was the company’s most well-attended conference yet, and the first to be held online. Higher education is in for turbulent times.

This week’s issue of The Batch is all about medical applications of AI. Amid the current pandemic, the marriage of AI and medicine is more urgent than ever. My father is a practicing doctor, and I grew up seeing firsthand how the right...

The Covid-19 pandemic is a tragedy that demands urgent and humane response. It’s also pushing us toward new ways of gathering and sharing information — and that may be a faint silver lining that might grow brighter over time.

I chatted recently with MIT researcher Lex Fridman on his Artificial Intelligence podcast, where we discussed our experiences teaching deep learning. It was the most fun I’ve had in an interview lately, and you can watch the video here.

Many of us apply labels to ourselves that shape our identity. Some say, “I’m a sports fan,” and this attitude motivates behaviors such as cheering for the home team. Others identify themselves as introverts, extroverts, vegetarians, gamers...

I just finished reading BJ Fogg’s new book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Fogg explains that the best way to build a new habit is to start small and succeed, rather than starting too big and giving up.

One of the best gifts a friend gave me last year was recommending a book that I subsequently read and loved. She didn’t even have to buy it for me!