Decomposing Neural Networks
is a course of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg for the Bachelor program of Digital Media.
A course of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg for the Bachelor program of Digital Media.
Content:
Neural networks can generate artworks or beat the world champion in go by suggesting moves that no expert would consider.
Metaphorical they are often described as black boxes, which are generally seen as uninterpretable by humans.
But how black is the black box really? Why are those models so powerful? And where are their limits or weaknesses?
Together we will look at the inner mechanism of neural networks, but likewise, dive into where the concepts are derived from. We will practically experiment with different architectures to deepen the understanding of the concepts, exploring their power but also their limitations.
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Learning Objectives:
This course aims to familiarize students with the technological background of machine learning in an intuitive way.
Students of this course should learn to:
- Understand the functionality and inner mechanisms of neural networks.
- Understand the basic working behaviour of biological neurons and the transfer of the concept to the perceptron.
- Experiment with different concepts of deep machine learning and their influence on the performance when training a neural network.
- Apply different neural network architectures according to the problem, which needs to be solved.
- Critically discuss the abilities and limitations of neural networks with the gained understanding of their functionality.
- Reflect on similarities/ dissimilarities between a biological neural network and the abilities of its digital reconstruction.
Assignments and workload:
This course has a workload of 5 ETC. It comprises pre- and post-lecture assignments during the duration of the course,
which will encompass reading assignments as well as experimental coding tasks.
Exam:
Students have to train an own neural network (based on the code developed together in the seminar) and critically reflecting it in written form.
Students about this seminar:
