The Deep Learning Revolution

“Deep learning” is based on artificial neural networks, which simulate how the brain learns through experience.

Information feeds knowledge, which provides insight about what people do, what they want and who they are. Knowledge is no longer external to the brain but converges with it through deep learning systems. Machines are learning how to translate words, recognize voices and diagnose illnesses.

Deep learning is a branch of machine learning. Its roots are in mathematics, computer science and neuroscience. Deep learning machines learn by the experience of collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data to make sense of the world. “Data are the new oil…whoever has the most data wins.” Learning algorithms are “refineries” that extract information from raw data. The new information feeds knowledge. 

The deep learning revolution doesn’t focus only on how artificial intelligence evolved but also on how human intelligence is evolving. Bringing machine learning into the 21st century took three decades of patience and perseverance by a small but luminous research community.

The first...