The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence) The Next Generation of Self-Driving Engineers with Aaron Ma - Talk #318
Nov 18, 2019
Eleven-year-old Aaron Ma, a prodigious machine learning engineer in training, shares his incredible journey through the world of AI. With over 80 Coursera courses under his belt, he discusses his passion for reinforcement learning and self-driving cars. Aaron reflects on his experiences in Kaggle competitions, the challenges of bridging complex concepts without a math-heavy background, and the innovations driving self-driving technologies. His insights offer a unique perspective on the future of technology as he balances academics with his coding adventures.
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From iMac to To-Do List
- Aaron Ma's interest in computer science began at age five with a hand-me-down iMac.
- He progressed from educational software to learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, creating his first website, a to-do list web app.
The Roasting Company and NativeScript Jeopardy
- At a party, Aaron's dad's coworker suggested he build a s'mores-themed website using Angular.
- After learning Angular, he impressed attendees at a meetup with his NativeScript knowledge, leading to his first Twitter follower.
Motivations for Machine Learning
- Aaron was encouraged by his dad to learn machine learning and AI.
- Motivated by the potential to "make moolah" and improve healthcare access, he started with online Python tutorials.