Lecture 1 – Course Introduction (MIT How to AI Almost Anything, Spring 2025)

This podcast introduces "How to AI Almost Anything," a MediaLabs course at MIT. Paul, the instructor, along with TAs Srinika and David, will focus on building multisensory AI systems that can process various sensory inputs beyond language, such as vision, gestures, and sensors. The course aims to design AI that enhances human experiences, ensures safety in real-world interactions, and covers topics from physical sensing and generative AI to holistic health indicators and interactive agents. The course is structured around lectures, independent research, and discussions, emphasizing the principles of applying AI to new modalities and multimodal AI, rather than specific algorithms. The grading will be based on reading assignments and a high-quality research project, with a focus on data collection, model architecture design, and real-world deployment concerns.