Designing Autonomous AI

Part III. How Do You Teach a Machine?

Machine teaching is a process of using teaching techniques to help machines perform useful tasks quickly, reliably, and explainably. Teaching breaks down tasks into skills, orchestrates how those skills relate to each other, and sequences the practice of those skills for the learner. Each skill requires that certain actions be taken to perform the skill, and each skill has goals that guide the learner. In Part III, I will show you how to set actions for your brain, set goals for your brain, and teach skills to your brain. Then, I will provide advanced teaching techniques to help you guide your brain toward expert skill acquisition. Here is the outline of this part of the book:

• Teaching your AI brain what to do

• Setting goals for your AI brain

• Teaching skills to your AI brain

• Giving your AI brain the information it needs to learn and decide

Understanding the Process

Curiosity and understanding are mandatory requirements for teaching. Anytime I design a brain, I gather the subject matter experts, data scientists, software engineers, and business process owners and have them walk me through the entire process from end to end. I ask questions that help me understand the process, its goals, the current method for controlling the process, and the limitations of that method. This is the first and most crucial exercise you’ll perform to design brains.

Meet with Experts

At least one person who earns their living making the decisions ...