Artificial Intelligence: Explaining the Basics

If you are a student or professional interested in the latest trends in the computing world, you would have heard of terms like artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, deep learning, etc. The first article in this series on artificial intelligence explains these terms, and sets the platform for a simple tutorial that will help beginners get started with AI. Today it is absolutely necessary for any student or professional in the field of computer science to learn at least the basics of AI, data science, machine learning and deep learning. However, where does one begin to do so? To answer this question, I have gone through a number of textbooks and tutorials that teach AI. Some start at a theoretical level (a lot of maths), some teach you AI in a language-agnostic way (they don't care whether you know C, C, Java, Python, or some other programming language), and yet others assume you are an expert in linear algebra, probability, statistics, etc. In my opinion, all of them are useful to a great extent. But the important question remains -- where should an absolute beginner interested in AI begin his or her journey? Frankly, there are many fine ways to begin your AI journey.