LEGEND

A British-born American computer scientist and tech entrepreneur , Ng earned his undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1997 and hasn ’ t looked back . With his triple major in computer science , statistics , and economics , he co-founded and led Google Brain , building large-scale artificial neural networks using distributed infrastructure .

Following his Google experiments , Ng took over as Chief Scientist at Chinese multinational company Baidu . During his time at the company , he expanded their AI team to well over two thousand employees .

In 2012 , Time Magazine named him to their 100 Most Influential People list , and in 2014 , Fast Company acknowledged him as one of their Most Creative People . One could also mention his numerous accolades : an Innovator Under 35 , a Sloan Research Fellowship , and an IJCAI Computers and Thought Award .

But one of the most impressive aspects of Ng ’ s career is his dedication to widening the field of AI to anyone who wants to work in

Students registered for

Ng ’ s initial CS229A course on Coursera it . To him , the path forward is clear : “ Education is knowledge . And knowledge is human progress .”

In 2012 , Ng co-founded Coursera , an online education company that allows students to take classes from top universities from anywhere in the world . Almost a decade after its inception , three of Coursera ’ s most popular courses are still Ng ’ s : Machine Learning , AI for Everyone , and Neural Networks and Deep Learning .

After teaching over 2.5mn students through his in-person and online courses , Ng maintains a deep commitment to democratising deep learning . “ As leaders ,” he said , “ it is incumbent on all of us to make sure we are building a world in which every individual has an opportunity to thrive . Understanding what AI can do and how it fits into your strategy is the beginning , not the end , of that process .”

Of course , Ng continues to lead the field in implementing the latest developments in artificial intelligence . In 2018 , he launched AI Fund , a $ 175mn artificial intelligence investment fund ; as of April 2021 , his company Landing AI claimed the fifth spot on CB Insights ’ Top 100 list .

At Landing AI , Ng aims to examine unique domain knowledge , business goals , and historical data to personalise AI transformation for specific businesses . After all , as a lifelong teacher , he ’ s well-versed in a fundamental lesson : that tech , just like education , isn ’ t one-sizefits-all .

18 June 2021