Professor Chris Bishop is a Technical Fellow and Director at Microsoft Research AI4Science, in Cambridge. He is also Honorary Professor of Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh, and a Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge. In 2004, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, in 2007 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 2017 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. Chris was a founding member of the UK AI Council, and in 2019 he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology.

At Microsoft Research, Chris oversees a global portfolio of industrial research and development, with a strong focus on machine learning and the natural sciences.

Chris obtained a BA in Physics from Oxford, and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Edinburgh, with a thesis on quantum field theory.

Chris's contributions to the field of machine learning have been truly remarkable. He has authored (what is arguably) the original textbook in the field - 'Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning' (PRML) which has served as an essential reference for countless students and researchers around the world, and that was his second textbook after his highly acclaimed first textbook Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition.

Recently, Chris has co-authored a new book with his son, Hugh, titled 'Deep Learning: Foundations and Concepts.' This book aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the key ideas and techniques underpinning the rapidly evolving field of deep learning. It covers both the foundational concepts and the latest advances, making it an invaluable resource for newcomers and experienced practitioners alike.

Buy Chris' textbook here:

https://amzn.to/3vvLcCh

More about Prof. Chris Bishop:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Bishop

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/cmbishop/

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TOC:

00:00:00 - Intro to Chris

00:06:54 - Changing Landscape of AI

00:08:16 - Symbolism

00:09:32 - PRML

00:11:02 - Bayesian Approach

00:14:49 - Are NNs One Model or Many, Special vs General

00:20:04 - Can Language Models Be Creative

00:22:35 - Sparks of AGI

00:25:52 - Creativity Gap in LLMs

00:35:40 - New Deep Learning Book

00:39:01 - Favourite Chapters

00:44:11 - Probability Theory

00:45:42 - AI4Science

00:48:31 - Inductive Priors

00:58:52 - Drug Discovery

01:05:19 - Foundational Bias Models

01:07:46 - How Fundamental Is Our Physics Knowledge?

01:12:05 - Transformers

01:12:59 - Why Does Deep Learning Work?

01:16:59 - Inscrutability of NNs

01:18:01 - Example of Simulator

01:21:09 - Control