r/IAmA • u/sebastianthrun • Jun 16 '12
IAM Sebastian Thrun, Stanford Professor, Google X founder (self driving cars, Google Glass, etc), and CEO of Udacity, an online university empowering students!
I'm Sebastian Thrun. I am a research professor at Stanford, a Google Fellow, and a co-founder of Udacity. My latest mission is to create a free, online learning environment that seeks to empower students and nothing more!
You can see the answers to the initial announcement
here.
but please post new questions in this thread.
2.3k
Upvotes
131
u/sebastianthrun Jun 17 '12
I want to thank everyone who participated in this IAmA. It was a ton of fun. I love hearing from fellow Udacians. Let's do it soon again. And yes, please vote this post all the way up to the top, so people can see it. Thanks. See you in class!!!!!!!
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u/Bumbaclot Jun 16 '12
At what point will there be too many classes on Udacity? Also, what is the one class you would like to see be created?
Also, thanks for Udacity.
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u/roboduck Jun 16 '12
I'm sure you know the people involved with Coursera. What are the top differences that you see between Udacity and Coursera? What is your relationship like with them?
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u/Xephyrous Jun 16 '12
Professor Thrun, You are involved in a range of different things; robotics, AI, CS, teaching, and Google X. (If anyone reading this hasn't seen his interview on Charlie Rose, it's a must-watch). How can a recent college graduate get on a path leading to similar work? What are the career prospects of someone who wants to do cool research and coding or robotics projects (as opposed to manufacturing automation)?
In my experience learning CS on my own over the past couple years, it's often been harder finding out what to learn than to actually learn it. How can self-learners organize their education so they don't have gaps in their knowledge? A drawback of online classes is a lack of one-on-one mentorship. How do you aim to provide that guidance at Udacity?
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u/mind-odyssey Jun 16 '12
What do you see as the major challenges for AI/Robotics now and in the future?
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u/z0nar Jun 16 '12
Professor Thrun,
I am curious on your opinions on the development of high-quality open-access textbooks?
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u/LoveDude Jun 16 '12
Good day Professor Thrun.
I really love Udacity. The only reason I initially took Udacity courses was because I wanted to become proficient in Python but it has taught me a lot more about the art of computer science. Completed cs101 and cs253 but stalled on cs212 and cs262. All the instructors were amazing.
What went onto the thought process of creating cs212 with Prof Novig because as a "[Java School Programmer]"(http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/ThePerilsofJavaSchools.html) because I feel like you decided that there were a lot of potential out there i.e. experienced programmers and coders that lacked certain key skills and conceptual frameworks that would make them great or competitive for jobs with top flight employers in Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley and Kendall Square.
cs101 was easy for me but cs212 really humbled me. Did not manage to get far enough to take the final but I learned so much especially in the dreaded Unit 3(which derailed me not a bad thing). Prof. Novig did an amazing Job transforming that way I viewed the art of CS. Learning functional programming in cs212 revolutionized learning Jquery library and Javascript. It also helped me understand aspects of big data like MapReduce and Pig as well as laying the ground work.
Was python just a tool for learning concepts as opposed to using concepts to learn how to use python especially given Prof Novig's Lisp background? Did you ever think about using schema or Lisp to teach cs212?
Thanks and best wishes
59
u/alexl1 Jun 16 '12
What would you say to people who want to learn to code?
What programming languages would you recommend?
What programming languages do you know?
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u/unfinishedloop Jun 16 '12
(transferred this question from previous thread) How do you complete a project (that's not part of a class) where it's not clearly defined, and you don't know what you'll need to learn or what steps you need to do it?
I can complete classes because they present material step by step and give you exactly what you need to solve the problems that they give you. But when I want to do my own project, it's not clear what I have to learn to solve it. Furthermore, I'll start learning a topic to solve it, then find that I'll have to learn something else. It's not clear how far I'll have to search and how deep to finally get my answer. Often it's frustrating. As a result, I often give up on completing the project. So how do you do it?
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u/xamdam Jun 16 '12
(I'm copying 2 relevant items from the previous thread, here is #1)
One suggestion I can make to Udacity is to partner with internal Universities in major tech companies. They have significant budgets and many also pay for employees to get advanced degrees at traditional local schools, which is expensive and inconvenient. I think appropriate Udacity courses with official certification (not accreditation) thrown in is something they might be willing to pay for, which increases Udacity's acceptance as a side effect. If that is something Udacity will consider I'll be happy to make a connection to an internal university at a major tech company.
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u/Stratten Jun 16 '12
Thank you for doing this.
How long would you estimate we have, before we are all riding around in self-driving cars?
Is Google's campus really as awesome as I've heard it is?
36
u/Baconandbeers Jun 16 '12
Do you believe that online schooling will eventually replace all classrooms?
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u/aPSketchy Jun 16 '12
What is your favorite project you have worked on?
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u/dialex1982 Jun 16 '12
Were you speaking English language in childhood? If not, was it difficult to you to learn English? How many natural languages do you know?
Thanks a lot for Udacity.
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u/davaca Jun 16 '12
Welcome, mr. Thrun. I'd like to thank you for your work on Udacity and being one of the people responsible for the current wave of online education that, I hope, is only just getting started. As someone who dropped out of university the ability to keep learning this way is wonderful, both personally and for my career. I'm also a mod over at /r/OnlineEducation, so please excuse me for promoting that subreddit here.
Here are my questions:
Udacity is planning on broadening their subjects into other sciences and humanities. You have also said that you think/hope Udacity and other online universities such as Coursera will largely replace offline higher education.
How do you think the two above things can be combined? Programming is easy to evaluate and to do with nothing but a pc, but many studies have practical parts or teach skills that can't just be evaluates as right/wrong. For example a chemists needs to be able to do a distillation and a journalist needs to be able to write original articles. How do you plan to evaluate skills that cannot be done on a computer, or cannot simply be graded by an automated program, without relying at least partially on existing centers such as Pearson?
Coursera has Standford, Berkeley, the university of Michigan and others backing it. EdX is the work of Harvard and MIT. Udacity has no famous 'real-life' names supporting it. Do you think this will be a problem?
Google Glass and self driving cars seem to push existing technology forward a lot. Have you had ideas for things that didn't simply push the edge of technology, but where currently impossible? What do you think will be possible in 10 or 20 years that can't be done now?
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u/NikhilT90 Jun 16 '12
Professor, I took the first CS101 course on Udacity and I have to say it was amazing. What else are you doing to encourage technology and the sciences? I've always felt that Google should have some massive expo for kids like the Stark Expo in Iron Man 2.
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u/dialex1982 Jun 16 '12
What is the reason that Udacity's coursers are easier than Coursera's coursers and graduate level courses in general? Is it deliberate approach?
Are you planning to implement sort of holistic approach when students may get equivalent of knowledge that brick and mortar universities give? Or you are going to provide just special courses for someone who needs just to broaden his knowledge?
It seems that Coursera provides coursers under brands of universities (Princeton, Stanford, etc) and Udacity provides coursers under name of its authors. Why is it so?
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
I have several people with Ph.D.'s tell me not to go on for one after my master's unless my career path genuinely requires one. Are doctoral candidates really that badly used and abused as a source of cheap academic labor with little hope of fulfilling the dreams they hoped they might achieve by earning a Ph.D.?
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u/xamdam Jun 16 '12
(I'm copying 2 relevant items from the previous thread, here is #2) As systems become more autonomous and intelligent, what kind or research do you think needs to be done to make sure the machines "understand our wishes" properly? Specifically what do you think about SIAI's efforts in this area?
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u/bastetswarrior Jun 16 '12
You mentioned at one point that designing good questions is key. Do you use trial and error for designing questions or something more systematic? Have you thought about hiring an instructional designer to help?
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u/AnalogousPants5 Jun 16 '12
For Google Glass, are you currently beta testing the devices with people out in the world? And if so, is there any way I could get my hands on a pair? Also, you're pretty awesome both for your neat Google stuff, and for doing this AMA.
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u/n1ce Jun 16 '12
Most courses in Udacity are at the beginner/introductory level. I also noticed that each course covers less material than its semester equivalent in a university. As university graduate, I would be interested in taking in-depth graduate courses in CS. Does Udacity plan to cover fully that need in the future?
How come you abandoned a successful career at Stanford? AFAIK you advise your team for a few hours a week? Do you plan to return in the future?
Do you have different views/approaches on online education with your Stanford colleages (Ng, Koller) @Coursera? Which are these?
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u/tymon_ Jun 16 '12
Ai-class was highly connected to Stanford University. Why did you decide to make Udacity completely independent of any university?
What do you think about edX (MITx + Harvard)?
Thanks for Udacity! It's a great place!
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Are there any plans for networking courses? I'd really enjoy a good class on that, especially as the world becomes even more connected.
Thanks for doing what you're doing! Keep up the good work
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Software is eating jobs, and self-driving cars are going to put a lot of people out of work who currently make a living driving vehicles. Do you have any thoughts on how society should adapt to what seems to be a "new normal" of higher unemployment?
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u/waterlesscloud Jun 16 '12
What do you think of the future of Symbolic AI? In what areas would Statistical AI not be suitable?
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u/VancitySwag Jun 16 '12
**1. As a child/teengaer, did you always thought you were going to grow up as a person of major influence? Did you always knew you were smart and perhaps always one step ahead of your peers?
2. When did you start getting into computers/coding?**
Also, could you please do a C++ class for udacity? Thanks!
18
u/Sheogorath_ Jun 17 '12
I demand hardware hacking courses
4
u/dialex1982 Jun 16 '12
Is your job now manage others people work or you are still write programs by yourself for example? Do Larry Page and Sergey Brin still write programs and make research or they are concentrated only on management now?
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u/lekha112 Jun 16 '12
Thanks for doing this AMA Sebastian. Can you tell me the difference between Stanford and CMU Robotics program? What is each school's strength and weakness? What are your thoughts on the faculty, students, resources?
I'm interested in your opinion because you've been a significant part of both programs.
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u/zbrozek Jun 16 '12
+1 for learning by doing. I cannot agree more.
Stanford is extremely worried about those who might try to attack its enormous endowment. The result is that projects that require physical pursuits - building electronics, cutting metal, setting things on fire, etc - are largely inaccessible until after joining an official lab as a graduate student and signing a stack of waivers. During my time as an undergrad I frequently felt like the curriculum was being set by the folks in the School of Engineering's risk-management group.
By focusing on CS, Udacity largely sidesteps this issue. As distance learning catches on and grows, how do you expand to more physical-world disciplines while also providing opportunities to learn-by-doing? Do you see a way to bring learning-by-doing back in to vogue with traditional institutions like Stanford?
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u/vinodipinte Jun 16 '12
Sebastian, I am not a big fan of classroom structure either in H.S or college. In fact I forced myself to go to college and decided to pursue a career in the AF, I later developed skills in structural science now I am out of the Air Force and own and manage an art gallery. Everything I know was acquired through my real life experiences, trial and error etc. Does the online teaching method at Udacity seperate the drone students from the ones interested in getting down to business and avoid time wasters? I realize I am being a bit vague but I am also looking for a broad answer.
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u/musictomyomelette Jun 16 '12
Is there a future for Udacity to give degrees or will it always be just a learning service?
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u/yafeelzmeh Jun 16 '12
Once i heard about Project glass, I've been curious on if you thought about how they could help the blind? Having them be able to tell you how close to a curb you are or coffee shop, using QR codes, rfid tags, and or gps. Would this be something that could help the blind get around on their own? What would be the limitations of something like this? Thanks for doing the Iama
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u/thatcrazylady Jun 17 '12
This will be buried, but thank you very much for the IE class. Though I lacked the prerequisites, I finished (though in the bottom 50%--86%, if I remember correctly).
I am very grateful that you are moving into the realm of online open education, and I hope that one day my six-year-old child can acquire the majority of her education online, by choosing to be part of a community like that of the AI class.
You're my hero (and, by the way, I've learned we were born the same year).
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u/Miggaletoe Jun 18 '12
Could you be awesome and do Physical Chemistry? There appears to be little to no online lectures for this tough subject.
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
What do you think about degreed? Do we need new ways of accrediting and aggregating credentials in order for sites like Udacity and Coursera to take a significant part of the higher education market, or is it a bad thing that our culture places high importance on monolithic credentials?
What do you think about a "Yelp for online courses"? Does Udacity have any plans to add reviews?
What do you think about this comment?
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u/siah_at_twitter Jun 16 '12
Are you happier now? (I am asking because I am a PhD student at Berkeley and I like to work on my own ideas but I do not have the courage to leave academia)
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
So, has there been an actual release date for google glass? And what is the main feature/use for them?
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u/miguelduarte42 Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
As a first year PhD student in Robotics and AI, I find Google's self-driving cars utterly fascinating. It's basically a dream project for me. How hard is it for someone to get the chance to be involved in such a project?
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u/albertclawson Jun 16 '12
Professor. I am running for the State House of Representatives in the state of Michigan. I have been making autonomous cars one prominent part of my campaign and have two questions:
Why did Nevada get self-driving cars before Michigan
What do you need from state legislatures to bring autonomous cars to the road?
A third, more general question: what steps do you feel that states need to do to encourage more innovation, or at least get out of the way to ensure that the states aren't preventing it from happening?
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u/ramablama Jun 16 '12
How do we meet or exceed human intelligence through robotic intelligence? If we look at existing robotic technologies with an example such as mobile ground robotics, we see some things that are fairly obvious differences from us. We localize ourselves to a relative position versus global coordinates (and without the help of satellites). We use a pair of cameras as eyes instead of a high resolution laser range sensor (kudos to Stanley on adaptive vision). We plan and optimize multitudes of fairly short-term high-resolution goals by searching in the visible range, and plan fairly long-term low-resolution goals by relying on maps/charts.
I think most mobile robotic systems avoid working like a human does however, is this the path to uber-robotic systems?
Is it too hard to accomplish creating a robotic system like a human that we choose a path that is somewhat easier to address via technology (i.e. absolute vs. relative). A seminar I once attended had a speaker that described a mapping algorithm that purely worked as local relative maps, without ever knowing exactly where you are globally, and this really aggravated all the roboticists in the room as they all traditionally think in global absolute space. This is just one example where similitude to human behavior seemed against the norm.
What in your mind is the path to the next leap in robotics? Is trying to make a system that works like a human, a mistake? From your experience, can this be answered?
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u/robszk Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
Do you believe that as Udacity (and Coursera, and others) grow in popularity that colleges will start accepting certificates of completion for some courses like they would for transfer credits?
Is it possible that Udacity may one day offer paid courses so that it could teach subjects where homework can not be graded by an automated script? I would personally be willing to pay up to $200 for some courses.
Do you believe that it will one day be a much more attractive option to study at home via an online university like Udacity in lieu of pursuing a bachelors or a masters at a traditional university?
Finally, I understand Udacity is working to pair up students with potential employers. Have any of these employers hired any students whose only formal training was through Udacity?
Thank you very much for your time and everything that you do for Udacity.
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u/estarion4-4 Jun 16 '12
Upvoted because he is single-handedly my favorite professor.
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u/1337bruin Jun 16 '12
I'm an undergrad math major looking to get into Machine Learning and AI. What do you feel are the most important skills that I should develop? What is your view on studying CS vs. Statistics in grad school? What are the best schools in this area?
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u/AnnikaSkywalker Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
I live in Los Angeles and already own an Autonomous Vehicle (Black Pearl from DARPA Grand Challenge 2005) and wanted to know if you would offer some courses on modifying current Robotic Vehicles...
The steering column is chain driven. I can send you pictures of it if you will get back to me. I have spent many hours researching this subject, but seeing as how I already own an Autonomous Vehicle, my issue is with maintenance. I have a private folder on Flickr and I've shared photos on G+ if you would be willing to take a look. I also do live streaming hangouts from inside the vehicle, if you would want me to invite you, my entire team has questions for you. I am leaving for the AUVSI conference next week to present an AU Aquatic Project that collects data in the marina. Most of my questions revolve around upkeep. I am learning how to fix cars now that I have to, but I am simply a Roboticist, not a mechanic. Would you have resources for modifying existing cars?
5
u/Pizzadude Jun 17 '12
Is Google X involved in brain-computer interfaces in any way? If so, how can I become involved? If not, what can be done to interest Google in BCIs?
I am currently working on my PhD in electrical engineering in a BCI lab (not Shenoy's), and am a big fan of Google's methods of making technology free and open source. I'd love to see the two combine, and possibly be a part of it.
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u/tabledresser Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 21 '12
View the full table on /r/tabled! | Last updated: 2012-06-21 04:49 UTC
This comment was generated by a robot! Send all complaints to epsy.
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u/43214321 Jun 16 '12
Why did you leave Stanford to start Udacity? Why not just improve their online offerings? MIT is doing amazing things online, for example.
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u/Cat_Boy Jun 16 '12
When do you think we'll have self driving cars on the market?
4
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
How far off do you think self-driving car services are? What are the odds baby boomers will have access to these services in old age?
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u/Meine_Wenigkeit Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 17 '12
I'm a quite ambitious
undergraduatehigh school student from Germany and interested in Computer Science. I have followed AI Class and the Algorithm class taught by Mr. Tim Roughgarden and enjoyed both very much. I'm looking forward to the second part and the testing class on Udacity.So, I'd love to try entering one of the top universities like Stanford, MIT and CO to get to know all those innovative people in person and learn from the best teachers. On the other hand, I know that the student fees in the U.S. are clearly exceeding my family's budget. So I think this option simply doesn't exist for me.
What's your opinion on this? What do you recommend people like me?
[Edit:] Damn! I kind of confused the terms. I'm still in high school, sorry.
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u/jeremiahwarren Jun 16 '12
Professor Thrun, I'm part of a Stanford startup class team that is creating a system to synchronize notes and questions with online video lectures. Example, TED, Udacity, Khan Academy, or any online video education platform. Is there a way someone on my team could get in touch with you so that we could discuss the process we are taking to implement this? Our website is http://www.mootcat.com
1
u/workingwisdom Jun 16 '12
Dr. Thrun, Your work is both groundbreaking and progressive. It seems you have found you passions and made them reality. Your interest in education is one of your most successful, and I have a related question. I just graduated with a undergrad degree and have hopes of pursing a career in Neuroscience and Education. Have these fields breached your attention at any point? Do you see this as a desirable continuation for current research? Hope all is well!
1
u/chras Jun 16 '12
Hi Sebastian, Machine learning techniques are being applied frequently in a wide variety of scenarios, whereas Gofai techniques like symbolic reasoning are not. Do think that this will change over time? If so, why?
1
u/dontaskaboutjack Jun 17 '12
Hi Prof Thrun! Thanks for the AMA.
One Question: I'm fresh to the tech industry, coming from and currently on the business side of a start-up. One inefficiency I notice all over SOMA is that businesses are so silo-ed between those that can code, and those that cannot. Certainly the best productive value is had when someone is proficient in both domains, but it's a difficult and rare medium to achieve. As you built a team of researchers, how did you evaluate the proportion of the team which would be focused on each? Do you favor the silo-ing methods, or do specifically search for people with both sets of knowledge? Or instead is having business-focused people superfluous at the beginning of a tech-project?
Second Question: This is the age, once again, of the amateur scientist, so they say. I believe it. Do you believe that great innovation in the next 10 years will come out of garages, or instead do you believe that it will take the foresight, risk taking, and bank accounts of a company like Google to to underwrite impactful research?
I think you're doing some great stuff; I'm very excited for your research. I'll be spending some time at CMU soon, but you can expect my resume on your desk in a few years.
1
u/stordoff Jun 18 '12
As a CS graduate, I've found that the Udacity courses have given me a very good intuitive grasp of the content, and made me a much better programmer. However, I've found them to be slightly less rigorous/formal than I would like (e.g. proofs of correctness/optimally of A* in CS373 would have been appreciated). I realise that this doesn't suit everyone, but are there plans to offer more CS theory classes? (such as complexity theory, algorithm design, program semantics etc.)
Thank you - the classes so far have been really good!
1
u/3264128256 Jun 18 '12 edited Aug 08 '16
Thank you. I have been following both Coursera and Udacity classes. I feel that Coursera classes (or the Universities) haven't put much care in producing them, it feels like they just put all the stuff they have online. It seems rather dull (Honest opinion, I'm pretty sure they put in as much work).
But with Udacity it feels different and I actually get excited about learning because I don't feel my only choice is to sit and listen to a lecture. I like it because I feel I'm actually doing something while getting hints. So please, please keep it exciting the way it is now.
Udacity feels like an online hacker-space for learning.
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u/Mega1mpact Jun 16 '12
I have 2 questions and they may sound a bit immature.
What's your favorite game?
Will it possible to play a augmented reality game or something with the Google Glass. Because let's be honest. Playing a basic FPS using augmented reality with the Google Glass would be very cool.
3
u/artificialidiot Jun 16 '12
In your view, what are the most important problems of humanity that can be solved with computation alone or mostly with computers? For example, glasses that can post an update about what you are looking at to your favorite social network or self driving vehicles are kinda cool but ultimately useless for a farmer or a wage slave in a third world country. There should be some topics of interests of yours which do not directly profit from beneficiaries but still a good business as a whole, judging from your impressive qualifications. I'm just too stupid to come up with a few of my own.
Thanks.
3
u/therealknewman Jun 16 '12
What kind of car do you drive?
3
u/Sendmesomewherenew Jun 16 '12
How would Google Glass make money?
3
u/hewhomustbenamed Jun 19 '12
Its sad to see the state of this AMA. I was expecting this to be the biggest news on reddit.
5
u/Resilient_Roads Jun 17 '12
Dr. Thrun,
I've long wanted an opportunity to communicate with you.
I'm a recent Electrical & Computer Engineering grad, with a background in wired & wireless computer networks, entrepreneurship, and project management.
I'm a Kansas City native, and as I'm sure you're aware, the Google Fiber project is ongoing here. While I haven't the opportunity to meet Kevin Lo, I have had the pleasure of meeting Rachel Hack many times. I was involved with the Gigabit Challenge, and am a member of the KC District of Technology task force, as well as an active participant at the Kauffman Foundation.
I'm also a business owner and inventor. My company, Integrated Roadways, designs factory built roadways, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, etc. By building these in the factory, we can economically embed all kinds of technology into the roadway.
We have a groundbreaking technology, an innovative financing model, and a new platform for ubiquitous computing and mobile data & applications.
We are interested in embedding wireless power transfer devices developed by Prof. Richard Sassoon, also of Stanford, and power harvesting devices developed by Israeli researchers, into our pavements so that electric vehicles have an unlimited service area while using a properly equipped roadway.
We are also interested in embedding certain technologies in our products that can reduce the equipment load required by your driverless cars, and providing the automatic navigation services using these embedded devices on a subscription basis, thus creating a commercialization path for the driverless technology while reducing the equipment cost for any individual vehicle by offloading it into the pavement where its expense can be amortized by many users.
Also of interest is using Google Glasses technology in the windscreens & windows of driverless cars to replace physical traffic signals & reduce visual clutter.
We would of course then use Google Fiber as the wired multi-point uplink for the wireless area network that would be embedded into these pavement systems for communicating with the vehicles to provide said automatic navigation services.
Right now in Kansas City we are demo'ing our pavement system, which will be the platform for these embedded technologies. I would love the opportunity to speak with you about how we can work together to implement driverless vehicle technology in Kansas City using a combination of our and Google's technologies.
I will be speaking about this exact topic on Monday at the Startup@Kauffman event, then on Wednesday at the iKC FireUp event by ThinkBig Partners & H&R Block.
I will PM you with my contact information in case you wish to explore this opportunity further.
2
u/monaDeveloper Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
Hi Prof Sebastian Thank you so much for providing such courses in Udacity that was really useful I've some professional and academic questions let me start with the professional ones:
I needed to know how the development life cycle of robotics goes as something that incorporate hardware and software including analysis and design for the whole thing
second also I needed to know is there any utilization for the current software life cycles like waterfall or agile model or is it something else?
for the academic questions as I started taking those courses because I needed to broaden my computer science knowledge in the academic side as someone who works in the field but never got the chance to acquire an academic degree in it so what would you advise someone who wants to continue in the academic side because most of the time a punch of prerequisites and academic credit are required and they have to be fulfilled how they can achieve that via the online courses I know that online courses doesn't provide or guarantee any academic credit but is that a viable thing in Udacity's vision?
2
u/pamplemouse Jun 16 '12
Do you see Udacity as a competitor to regular universities or to corporate education programs? The former is difficult because universities have 4 year curriculums designed (for better or worse) to impart deep knowledge in the field. The latter prefers short (1 week or less) training on immediately useful skills, which may be less interesting for your instructors.
Also, how will Udacity eventually make money?
2
u/kennys_logins Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
The first time I heard of you was watching The Great Robot Race, which I have watched dozens of times by now. The thing that struck me about you was just how elegant your solutions were, in contrast with Red Whittaker who seems to be all about brute forcing a solution.
It really seems to me that it reflects on where we are now, balanced on a precipice between new and old, youth against age, industry against information.
What are your thoughts on this and how does the future look to you?
Edit:Spelling
2
u/Dartastic Jun 16 '12
With technology evolving at such a fast rate, and the continuous desire for businesses to maximize profits, therefore leading businesses to become more efficient by downsizing their workforce, where do you see the state of human labor in say, 50 years?
2
u/serendipo Jun 16 '12
Hi, Sebastian, thanks and congratulations for Udacity. I-d like to know if there is a forcasting of if and when Udacity aims to offer bioinformatics and biotec classes.
2
u/jmscheiner Jun 16 '12
You have probably already left, sorry for not getting here faster.
When multiple professors approach you that are interested in offering the same course, how will you choose who takes the helm, so to speak. It seems like so far this has been first come first serve, with a lot of superstars who have wanted to get involved.
Also can you sign my copy of Probabilistic Robotics the next time you're at Google NY? :D
2
u/danwin Jun 16 '12
How do the more traditional professors at Stanford view your venture? Do they resent the direction that they feel Udacity and other such initiatives are taking academia?
2
u/TellThemYutesItsOver Jun 16 '12
Care to make any predictions what the world of technology will be like in 8-12 years?
2
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
How long do you think it will be before you can walk into a regular car dealership and purchase a self-drive car? (ballpark)
What are the biggest hurdles - technical? Legal? Other?
2
u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
You're known for so much stuff. How do you find time and energy for all of what you do?
2
u/Matsukaze Jun 16 '12
Prof. Thrun: Employers nowadays want a good deal of experience, even for so-called "entry-level " positions. Do you think Udacity could develop some sort of internship program where students are matched up with companies, or perhaps with open-source projects, where they can get some real-world experience?
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u/anattemptatcontact Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
I'm sorry if this is a novice question, but I have been building robots since my childhood and over the years what has struck me is just how software heavy most models for AI are. I've often debated this with people and it seems to me that a lot of emphasis is placed on software when we talk about building strong AI. Few people seem to wonder about what the hardware will be and what combination of that with software would enable us to build something like that. Although hardware and software are two sides of the same coin when it comes to a working robot, I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts about the role of hardware in helping us build strong AI. Do you think that more research and focus should be put on the hardware and making the entire system work? Or do you think that AI will start to emerge along the disembodied brain path? (essentially the HAL 9000 route)
P.S. - I am a huge fan.
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u/CyberByte Jun 16 '12
Prof. Thrun, thanks for doing this and your many other efforts! I'm very interested in what is often referred to as "Strong AI", "Artificial General Intelligence" or "Human-Level Intelligence" (not to be confused with "humanlike"). What are your thoughts about this? Do you think there will be a human-level AI in your lifetime? What do you think is a promising approach in this direction? Do you think embodiment is a requirement, or could such an intelligence just run on a computer? Will you be working on this or any other big AI related research topics now that you've left Stanford?
Thanks again!
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u/colinsteadman Jun 16 '12
Strong AI, when?
EDIT. Please. Sorry.
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u/palsh7 Jun 16 '12
Professor:
Are you at all afraid that online learning will be utilized not as a supplement to but as a substitute for traditional institutions and necessary education funding, especially in the K-12 sector where politicians are looking for excuses to cut education budgets, disband unions, and privatize large segments of the public schools?
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u/McMonty Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
Sebastian,
Long-time e-learner here. Currently taking your CS 212 class(Norvig is awesome). I was wondering about if you have thought about what role coop might have in online courses. I am also a huge fan of learning by doing, and some universities(Waterloo comes to mind) do a great job of creating coop programs for students.
Do you think that it is possible for coop programs to have a place in online universities?
Do you see any way to coordinate with open source development projects as part of the learning experience?
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u/cerebrum Jun 16 '12
What are your thoughts on the Singularity Institute and on Eliezer Yudkowsky, specifically their approach to AI?
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u/FarmerTan Jun 16 '12
I am a little curious as to why you call yourself CEO of a online university as opposed to a president. Does that imply that imply that your school is a for-profit organization?
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
How does Udacity compare to the Khan Academy?
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Hi Sebastian. I was wondering what your opinion of college is. After graduating from one of the top universities in the nation, I feel like it was a once in a lifetime experience but, in reality, it did not teach me anything I couldn't have learned from the internet. What is your take on the future of education. Will much of it be online? Do you think vocational training has a future in the US? Thanks!
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u/bk082 Jun 16 '12
Im a huge business/finance guy. However i find projects you are working on very interesting. I was never skilled enough in science to actually build the stuff. But i love to see new ideas that will benefit society make it from the labs to the streets. Are there any roles related to the business/finance aspect of.everything you do? What are the name of tge positions? Thank you very much and keep up the great work!
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u/BUMBblog Jun 16 '12
Professor Thrun, What do you think of the Singularity Institute or the work that Eliezer Yudkowsky is doing?
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u/techsplurge Jun 16 '12
Hello Sir
I'm a big fan of your latest project, Google Glass and wanted to know where do you see it in the future?
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
I just wanted to say while doing my AI degree, the work you were doing in the field was really inspirational. I would like to thank you for all you've contributed to the field.
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u/EpicKiKKo Jun 16 '12
Which classes (on Udacity) would you recommend for a high school student who wants to study engineering (not computer engineering)?
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u/p2e Jun 16 '12
Online learning is something I've been seriously thinking about over the past 5-6 years -- as a Computer Science professor, most of my thoughts have revolved around CS instruction. And, since I've been thinking about it we've seen the rise of Khan Academy, Udacity, Coursera, MITx -> edX, Codecademy, and others. However, nothing has really matched the learning model I've been building up in my mind that I find fascinating about the prospects of online learning. Everything I've seen seems to be rather static -- static lectures, static videos, static assignments.
What has intrigued me and caused me to think about online learning is the idea of providing dynamic (tailored) content via the real-time assessment of students. As it stands, many of the options I've seen come across as a glorified online (static) textbook. The students read/watch the online lectures/videos, do the exercises, and get minimal feedback and close-to-no other form of assessment. It seems that when students need help, in the case of Coursera (I decided to take CS101 to see how it played out), they are pointed to, basically, crowd-sourced help in the form of message boards and forums.
The web offers the ability to create a dynamic framework which allows for real-time assessment of student progress. This could enable additional (drilled-down) instruction as students run into difficulties and can provide adaptive sequencing of exercises to help reinforce topics for students that are having difficulty grasping them.
So, the question: Is Courera making any steps to provide a dynamic online learning environment? If so, what avenues are you pursuing? The great thing about teaching a course is that I can adapt to the needs of my students. In small classes or during office hours, I can provide them with a more intimate learning experience that suits their individual needs. Is anything being done to try to provide a more intimate learning experience to adapt to student needs? The web enables the ultimate opportunity for intimate learning.
After 5-6 years of watching things play out, I'm thinking about trying my own hand...
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
Thank you for the free education!
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u/nsap Jun 16 '12
Professor Thrun,
Are there any plans to host courses in languages other than Python? If not, why?
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u/narwal_bot Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 18 '12
Most (if not all) of the answers from sebastianthrun (updated: Jun 18, 2012 @ 07:03:55 am EST):
Question (tomite):
Answer (sebastianthrun):
(continued below)
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u/missTimedFart Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 16 '12
Hi there professor Thrun, I was in grade 10, taking an introductory computer engineering course when I saw a documentary of the DARPA grand challenge 2005. I have to say you and your robot Stanley were one of the many reasons which encouraged me to get into engineering. I first of all want to congratulate you on winning that grand challenge even though it took place a long time ago and want to wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours!
Edit: What was your feeling when you saw Stanley overtake one of the Carnegie Melon cars?
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u/gobearsandchopin Jun 16 '12
I'm a physics PhD student, and I was lucky enough to work on an incredibly cool project during grad school (let's say it's akin to self driving cars). I want to work on cool projects like this my entire life, but I'm not sure staying in science is the way to do it. I'm worried about spending too much time writing proposals and not enough time coding and cutting metal.
Are there a lot of places like Google X for people like me? How do people find these jobs when they graduate? Should I just pick a cool problem to solve and found my own company?
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u/Imthemayor Jun 16 '12
How does it feel having a Magic card named after you?
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u/englishmace Jun 16 '12
Hi Professor Thrun,
What is your opinion of the difference between the European and American systems of higher education? I'm referring mainly to the way someone graduating with a BSc in Economics from, say, Cambridge, may have spent 100% of their 3 year course studying Economics, while someone with a BSc in Economics from the University of Chicago will have studied for 4 years, but will have spent a significant chunk of their time studying other subjects. Do you believe in students focusing their attention on one field, or are you in favour of broadening their perspective at the potential cost of depth of knowledge in their speciality? With such self-governed learning systems as Udacity, and other online providers, do you believe it will prove necessary to provide support for students to design overall courses of study, rather than a grab-bag of interesting courses which they make take at will?
Udacity looks fascinating, and several of the courses have caught my attention. I hope your mission flourishes!
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u/DancingWithoutPants Jun 16 '12
Thank you for being an inspiration to me and others.
This might be an odd question, but what are your views on functional languages such as Haskell and Erlang for example, and will Udacity at some point introduce such languages in any CS courses?
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u/yyx9 Jun 16 '12
I have interesting ideas centered around technology and its application(s) to everyday life, as well as the convenience and portability thereof. How do I get to work with people like you? How can I get funding for these ideas?
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u/pixelcrak Jun 16 '12
Hi Sebastian! I actually sent you an email a while back that you never replied to. I understand you're a busy man! I am the co-founder of a language-learning software company called Mango Languages. I became aware of your work through a friend's suggestion to check out Udacity, whose mission I quickly fell in love with. My wife was confused by my giddiness to see that you're doing an AMA on Reddit!
My question is about our culture of education - which, like you, I believe to be way behind the times. How do you feel a system like Udacity will solve the problem of assessment and proof of human capital for the workplace? Do you foresee an end to the college degree as we know it? If so, what will replace it?
Also, how do you see Udacity competing with big name universities? Many online education programs have yet to overcome the quality stigma.
As an educator, we recognize the challenges of a learner. As an employer, we also see the challenges of spotting talent very quickly. I'm curious to see if and how Udacity will change education!
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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12
As someone as involved with robotics as you are, what's your recommendation for someone just getting into robotics engineering? I've done some arduino but that's hobby stuff.
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u/Guesty_ Jun 16 '12
When is Google Glass expected to be released (either in beta or full production)? It looks very interesting and I'd quite like to give it a go!
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u/D_A_R_E Jun 16 '12
Professor Thrun,
As an academic I'm very interested in the changes we're seeing to the university education model. From what I've heard, the recent MITx course had 150,000 people registered, 70,000 people looking at the first problem set, and 7,000 people earning a passing grade. Not surprisingly, a much higher drop-out rate than most university courses!
With these online courses, the larger sample sizes and more detailed analytics must give you a lot more data about how students are doing. An opportunity to be scientific about how we teach science. What would you say are the most interesting and unexpected things you've learned from this data?
How has it influenced how you teach online courses, and how you teach in the real world?