2Defining a Neural Network
Recently, neural networks and deep learning have attracted even more attention with their successes being regularly reported by both the scientific and mainstream media, […] or the more recent AlphaStar. This renewed interest is partially due to the access to open-source libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras or Flux.jl to name just a few.
Jean-Christophe B. Loiseau
Have you ever heard of neural networks? What about AI? Are neural networks and AI synonyms? In this chapter, we will try to answer these questions by looking at the interesting comparison between AI and the human brain.
You could be thinking about some science fiction watched recently, starring a hero fighting against dozens of robots at the top of a building in flames. Reality is not too different from our imagination, even though we have to allow for exceptions. Can we consider artificial networks to be similar to biological networks?
It is usually considered inappropriate or even misleading to start with this comparison, even though there are some evident parallels that come to mind. Before we dive deep into these concepts, let us explore the landscape a bit.
We could say that neural networks are a subcategory of AI, the same as machine learning, deep learning and computer vision.
The concept of a network will be well known to individuals who are familiar with AI (Figure 2.1).
A network is a group of interconnected elements constantly exchanging information, exactly as the human ...