5 ms·

Yann LeCun responds to Michael Jordan's comments about deep learning

63 points by __Joker 12y ago

mturmon 12y ago
Thanks for linking this. I read Jordan's comments in IEEE Spectrum and was puzzled because it seemed like he was, in a veiled way, taking aim at deep learning. Then I re-read and saw that it could perhaps better be seen as an expression of annoyance about the media hype surrounding deep learning, but not an attack on deep learning per se. This post and commentary make it clear that it's the latter, that Jordan is bothered by the hype and imprecision in the word "neural". And, going back to the IEEE interview, that he's concerned about the possible repercussions on funding and legitimacy when the bill for the hype comes due, as it will.
bravura 12y ago
Also of interest is Michael Jordan's response to the original article with him: https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-media-and-other-provocative-words-to-put-in-a-title/ https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-...
nl 12y ago
I thought it was a terribly editorialised interview. Jordon was very measured in his statements, and clearly impressed with the progress made in the "AI" field in general. The interviewer on the other hand seemed to have very strong and cynical opinions about the field. The headline itself was a great example of this.
- gone35 12y ago
  It was, but judging from Mike's comments [1], he was also being a bit naïf coming in expecting otherwise. This kind of stuff happens often enough there are several common sense guides/books for "talking to the media" (see eg [2]). If you are in academia, you might definitely want to familiarize yourself with this stuff at some point. [1] https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-media-and-other-provocative-words-to-put-in-a-title/ https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-... [2] http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/UCS_Desk_Reference_Scientists_Guide.pdf http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/docu...
normloman 12y ago
God, first basketball, then baseball, and now he's gotta try his hands at AI too?
- ohquu 12y ago
  Good one.
- nkg 12y ago
  They should have precised "(not that Michael Jordan)" in the title. That's a click-trap! ^^
je42 12y ago
This makes much more sense now. The article was weird.
aet 12y ago
Also there is http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/brain-initiative http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/brain-initiative, which might add to all the neural net stuff.

63 points by __Joker 12y ago

Thanks for linking this. I read Jordan's comments in IEEE Spectrum and was puzzled because it seemed like he was, in a veiled way, taking aim at deep learning. Then I re-read and saw that it could perhaps better be seen as an expression of annoyance about the media hype surrounding deep learning, but not an attack on deep learning per se. This post and commentary make it clear that it's the latter, that Jordan is bothered by the hype and imprecision in the word "neural". And, going back to the IEEE interview, that he's concerned about the possible repercussions on funding and legitimacy when the bill for the hype comes due, as it will.

bravura 12y ago

Also of interest is Michael Jordan's response to the original article with him: https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-media-and-other-provocative-words-to-put-in-a-title/ https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-...

nl 12y ago

I thought it was a terribly editorialised interview. Jordon was very measured in his statements, and clearly impressed with the progress made in the "AI" field in general. The interviewer on the other hand seemed to have very strong and cynical opinions about the field. The headline itself was a great example of this.

gone35 12y ago
It was, but judging from Mike's comments [1], he was also being a bit naïf coming in expecting otherwise. This kind of stuff happens often enough there are several common sense guides/books for "talking to the media" (see eg [2]). If you are in academia, you might definitely want to familiarize yourself with this stuff at some point. [1] https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-media-and-other-provocative-words-to-put-in-a-title/ https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/2014/10/22/big-data-hype-the-... [2] http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/UCS_Desk_Reference_Scientists_Guide.pdf http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/docu...

normloman 12y ago

God, first basketball, then baseball, and now he's gotta try his hands at AI too?

ohquu 12y ago
Good one.
nkg 12y ago
They should have precised "(not that Michael Jordan)" in the title. That's a click-trap! ^^

je42 12y ago

This makes much more sense now. The article was weird.

aet 12y ago

Also there is http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/brain-initiative http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/brain-initiative, which might add to all the neural net stuff.