Introduction to Autoencoders and Feature Learning
Chapter 1: Understanding Autoencoders
Introduction to Unsupervised Learning
A Brief Overview of Neural Networks
The Core Idea: Learning Data Reconstruction
Encoder, Bottleneck, and Decoder: The Main Parts
The Purpose of Learning Data Representations
An Autoencoder Analogy
Initial Problems Addressed by Autoencoders
Quiz for Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Anatomy of an Autoencoder: Encoder and Decoder
The Encoder: Compressing Data
Structure of the Input Layer
Encoder Hidden Layers and Data Compression
The Bottleneck: The Compact Representation
Common Activation Functions in Encoders
The Decoder: Reconstructing Data
Decoder Hidden Layers and Data Decompression
Structure of the Output Layer
Common Activation Functions in Decoders
Matching Input to Output
Quiz for Chapter 2
Chapter 3: How Autoencoders Learn
Training Objective: Reducing Reconstruction Error
Loss Functions for Autoencoders (MSE, BCE)
The Learning Process: Optimization Basics
Data Flow: Forward Propagation Explained
Learning from Errors: Backpropagation (High-Level)
Training Cycles: Epochs and Batches
A Glimpse into Overfitting and Underfitting
Preparing to Build an Autoencoder
Quiz for Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Autoencoders and Learning Features
Defining Features within Datasets
Comparing Manual and Learned Feature Approaches
How Autoencoders Identify Underlying Features
The Bottleneck Layer as a Feature Extractor
Reducing Dimensions with Autoencoders
Simple Visualization of Learned Representations
Importance of Effective Data Representations
Quiz for Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Building a Basic Autoencoder
Python Environment Setup for Deep Learning
Getting Started with TensorFlow and Keras
Loading and Understanding a Basic Dataset
Data Preprocessing for Autoencoders
Constructing a Simple Autoencoder Model
Configuring the Model for Training
Executing the Training Process
Assessing Reconstruction Quality
Visualizing Reconstructed Outputs: Hands-on Practical
Examining Encoded Data: Practice
Quiz for Chapter 5
Introduction to Autoencoders and Feature Learning
Prerequisites: Basic Python knowledge
Level:
Beginner
What You'll Learn
Autoencoder Fundamentals
Understand the basic architecture and purpose of an autoencoder.
Encoding and Decoding
Explain the process of data compression (encoding) and reconstruction (decoding) in autoencoders.
Feature Learning
Describe how autoencoders can be used to learn meaningful representations (features) from data.
Dimensionality Reduction
Grasp how autoencoders perform dimensionality reduction.
Basic Implementation
Implement a simple autoencoder using a common machine learning library.