Getting Yourself Ready for Deep Learning

Due to recent achievements of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) in different applications of artificial intelligence (AI), such as computer vision, natural language processing (NLP) and speech recognition, deep learning has emerged as the prominent technology fundamental to most real-world implementations. This chapter aims to be a starting point on how to set oneself up for experimenting with and applying deep learning techniques in the real world. 

We will answer the key question as to what skills and concepts are needed to get started with deep learning. We will specifically answer following questions:

• What skills are needed to understand and get started with deep learning?
• What are the core concepts from linear algebra that are required for deep learning?
• What hardware requirements exist for practical implementations of deep learning systems?
• What software frameworks exist today that allow developers easy development of their deep learning applications?
• How do you set up a deep learning system over a cloud-based graphics processing unit (GPU) instance such as AWS?