Here’s how a neural network works

Daniel Smilkov and Shan Carter at Google put together this interactive learner for how a neural network works. In case you’re unfamiliar with the method:

It’s a technique for building a computer program that learns from data. It is based very loosely on how we think the human brain works. First, a collection of software “neurons” are created and connected together, allowing them to send messages to each other. Next, the network is asked to solve a problem, which it attempts to do over and over, each time strengthening the connections that lead to success and diminishing those that lead to failure.

I took one course on neural networks in college and poked around at those parameters for hours for various homework assignments and projects. I was basically a monkey pushing at buttons to see what images I could produce. I wish I had something like this to mess around with, so I could actually see the process.