Demystifying neural networks

Here comes probably the most frequently mentioned model in the media, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs); more often, we just call them neural networks. Interestingly, the neural network has been (falsely) considered equivalent to machine learning or artificial intelligence by the general public.

An ANN is just one type of algorithm among many in machine learning, and machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence. It is one of the ways we achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which is a hypothetical type of AI that can think, learn, and solve problems like a human.

Regardless, it is one of the most important machine learning models and has been rapidly evolving along with the revolution of Deep Learning (DL).

Let’s first understand how neural networks work.

Starting with a single-layer neural network

We start by explaining different layers in a network, then move on to the activation function, and...