Transformers and the Generative Era

Lesson goals

• Attention and context
• Large-scale pretraining
• Public adoption of generative models

Core idea

From attention to foundation models and multimodal assistants.

1. Attention and context: understand it in context, identify inputs and outputs, and define how the result will be verified.

2. Large-scale pretraining: understand it in context, identify inputs and outputs, and define how the result will be verified.

3. Public adoption of generative models: understand it in context, identify inputs and outputs, and define how the result will be verified.

Practical example

Consider a real application of “Transformers and the Generative Era.” Start small, identify available data, and compare the system with a clear baseline before expanding it.

Check your understanding

1. Explain “Transformers and the Generative Era” in your own words.
2. Give one appropriate and one misleading application.
3. What risk or limitation should be monitored?