PHYS 1200 The Physics of Artificial Intelligence

This course introduces students to the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence by exploring the meaning of learning across data-driven computational models and physical systems. The course is organized into three modules. In the first two modules, students are introduced to (1) todays dominant AI paradigm, which treats learning as an optimization problem in a high-dimensional parameter space; and (2) brain-inspired and neuromorphic paradigms, in which learning is realized as a dynamical physical process shaped by local interactions and energy flow. In the third module, students explore how cutting-edge ideas from physics criticality, emergence, and spacetime geometry might offer new ways to understand brain function and to design energy-efficient neuromorphic learning systems. Throughout, the course emphasizes conceptual understanding, physical intuition, and interdisciplinary thinking. It is open to both STEM and non-STEM students; assignments are designed with minimal mathematical prerequisites to accommodate diverse backgrounds.