Dear mom and dad,
You’ve always been curious about what I do at work, but whenever I mention “neural networks,” I see your eyes glaze over. So I thought I’d write this simple explanation just for you (and your friends at the golf club in case they’re interested as well).
Imagine a brain—but for computers
First, let’s start with something familiar: the brain. Our brains are made up of billions of tiny cells called neurons. These neurons talk to each other to help us think, learn, and make decisions. Now, imagine if a computer could do something similar.
That’s where a neural network comes in.
What exactly is a neural network?
A neural network is like a mini brain built inside a computer. It’s a lot of tiny processing units (think of them as “computer neurons”) connected together. Just like how a human brain learns from experiences, a neural network learns from data. The more it “sees” or “experiences,” the better it gets at understanding information and making decisions.
For example, if you show a neural network lots of pictures of cats and dogs, it will learn to tell the difference between them. It might not get it right the first time, but with enough practice, it becomes really good at it—just like how people (hopefully!) learn to do things better over time.
How does it work?
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
- Input layer: Imagine this as the eyes of the neural network. It takes in information (like a picture, or a dataset, or a piece of text).
- Hidden layer: This is where the “thinking” happens. The network processes the information, making little calculations, much like how our brain processes what we see or hear.
- Output layer: This is the final decision or result. After all the processing, the neural network might say, “That’s a cat!” or “This email looks like spam.”
Why is it important?
Neural networks are everywhere today. They help in things like:
- Recognizing faces in photos.
- Understanding speech (like when you talk to Siri).
- Recommending movies on Netflix.
And guess what? At IDVerse, where I work, we use neural networks to make sure people are who they say they are online. It helps in verifying identities, which is increasingly important in a world where so much happens online.
So the next time I mention neural networks, think of them as super-smart mini-brains that help computers learn and make decisions. It’s like teaching a really clever robot to do things on its own, which is a big part of what we do!
Hope this helps clear things up.
Love,
Emily
About the post:
Images and videos are generative AI-created. Prompt: Beaming Brazilian couple, 65 years old, swinging on a rainbow-colored swing set, whooshing through the air, vibrant playground background, holding hands, excited expressions, wearing brightly colored tropical shirts and pants, gleeful smiles, giddy vibe, lush colorful flower bushes behind, saturated colors, whimsical, surrealistic atmosphere, golden hour lighting, 8K detail, photorealistic style, portrait lens. Tools: Midjourney, Luma.
About the author:
Emily Hendley is Senior Vice President of Enterprise Product Management for IDVerse. With over a decade and a half of experience in business analysis and product management, she has an extensive track record of delivering enterprise solutions that drive growth and enhance user experience, particularly in the onboarding space. Emily joined IDVerse in 2021.
