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EPISODE · Oct 13, 2025 · 5 MIN

Backpropagation: The Engine Behind Modern AI

from Intellectually Curious · host Mike Breault

An accessible, concise tour of backpropagation: how the forward pass computes outputs, how the backward pass uses the chain rule to compute gradients efficiently, and why caching intermediates matters. A quick history from 1960s-70s precursors to Werbos, Rumelhart–Hinton–Williams' 1986 breakthrough, with NETtalk and TD-Gammon as milestones. We also discuss limitations like local minima and vanishing/exploding gradients, and what these mean for today’s huge models. Brought to you by Embersilk.Note:  This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes.  Please double-check any critical information.Sponsored by Embersilk LLC

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 13, 2025

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