Course Detail (Course Description By Faculty)

AI and Financial Information (30135)

Levy, Bradford>>

Are you interested in building an AI-first company? Managing an AI product? Evaluating investments in AI ventures? If so, this course will provide a foundation for achieving those goals.

Today’s AI systems such as ChatGPT and Claude are a complex web of components: knowledge bases, language and multi-modal models, preference alignment mechanisms, retrieval augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, re-rankers, etc. As such, this course will cover a wide range of topics and how each one fits into the big picture of “AI.” Hands-on experience with the topics will result from applying methods to processing large volumes of financial information. That said, most of these methods are general, and even students interested in other domains will gain valuable experience.

1. I thought Python was a snake, should I take this course?

Yes. Half of each class will be discussion/lecture which you will find useful and the other half a lab where we apply the lecture to a practical problem. If you genuinely have zero programming experience and/or have never programmed in Python then the lab will be challenging. That said, the labs will be team based so if you have team members who can help guide you, then that will help.

2. In my free time, I leverage QLORA to PEFT Llama 405B while using my 4090’s waste heat to keep my pet python’s terrarium at a balmy 29C, should I take this course?

Yes. If you are already familiar with advanced methods, the final project will be an opportunity for you to build something spectacular. Along these lines, I will make myself available to provide as much guidance as you like on the project. In addition, I believe the lectures will be sufficiently thought provoking to further cement your expertise and provide an opportunity for you to share with the class.

3. I might take (or already took) Booth course X on AI/ML. Should I take this course?

Yes. The Booth curriculum has been thoughtfully designed such that courses are compliments rather than substitutes. You must decide how much of your Booth education to dedicate to studying AI, but I believe that taking this course, along with any of my colleagues’ courses, will only better prepare you for an AI-related career.

Preparation for each class will involve concise pre-reading and a thought-provoking assignment. The first half of each class will be dedicated to discussion, lecture, and current advancements. The second half will be a lab. All materials will be provided via Canvas and labs will leverage cloud computing resources such as Google Colab.

Throughout term, student teams will work on a final project of their choosing. For this reason, other assignments will be kept to the minimum sufficient to facilitate in-class discussion. The goal of the final project is to provide students with (i) experience to enhance their portfolio of work, (ii) the opportunity to study a problem of personal interest, and (iii) demonstrate what they have learnt. At the end of term, teams will present their projects to the class and a panel of industry experts. The following weights will be used for computing final grades: Final Project (60%), Pre-class Assignments (20%), Participation/Attendance (20%).
Description and/or course criteria last updated: October 29 2024
SCHEDULE
  • Winter 2025
    Section: 30135-01
    TH 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
    Harper Center
    C03
    In-Person Only
    New Course

AI and Financial Information (30135) - Levy, Bradford>>

Are you interested in building an AI-first company? Managing an AI product? Evaluating investments in AI ventures? If so, this course will provide a foundation for achieving those goals.

Today’s AI systems such as ChatGPT and Claude are a complex web of components: knowledge bases, language and multi-modal models, preference alignment mechanisms, retrieval augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, re-rankers, etc. As such, this course will cover a wide range of topics and how each one fits into the big picture of “AI.” Hands-on experience with the topics will result from applying methods to processing large volumes of financial information. That said, most of these methods are general, and even students interested in other domains will gain valuable experience.

1. I thought Python was a snake, should I take this course?

Yes. Half of each class will be discussion/lecture which you will find useful and the other half a lab where we apply the lecture to a practical problem. If you genuinely have zero programming experience and/or have never programmed in Python then the lab will be challenging. That said, the labs will be team based so if you have team members who can help guide you, then that will help.

2. In my free time, I leverage QLORA to PEFT Llama 405B while using my 4090’s waste heat to keep my pet python’s terrarium at a balmy 29C, should I take this course?

Yes. If you are already familiar with advanced methods, the final project will be an opportunity for you to build something spectacular. Along these lines, I will make myself available to provide as much guidance as you like on the project. In addition, I believe the lectures will be sufficiently thought provoking to further cement your expertise and provide an opportunity for you to share with the class.

3. I might take (or already took) Booth course X on AI/ML. Should I take this course?

Yes. The Booth curriculum has been thoughtfully designed such that courses are compliments rather than substitutes. You must decide how much of your Booth education to dedicate to studying AI, but I believe that taking this course, along with any of my colleagues’ courses, will only better prepare you for an AI-related career.

Preparation for each class will involve concise pre-reading and a thought-provoking assignment. The first half of each class will be dedicated to discussion, lecture, and current advancements. The second half will be a lab. All materials will be provided via Canvas and labs will leverage cloud computing resources such as Google Colab.

Throughout term, student teams will work on a final project of their choosing. For this reason, other assignments will be kept to the minimum sufficient to facilitate in-class discussion. The goal of the final project is to provide students with (i) experience to enhance their portfolio of work, (ii) the opportunity to study a problem of personal interest, and (iii) demonstrate what they have learnt. At the end of term, teams will present their projects to the class and a panel of industry experts. The following weights will be used for computing final grades: Final Project (60%), Pre-class Assignments (20%), Participation/Attendance (20%).
Description and/or course criteria last updated: October 29 2024
SCHEDULE
  • Winter 2025
    Section: 30135-01
    TH 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
    Harper Center
    C03
    In-Person Only
    New Course