AI Engineering with Scrimba CEO Per Borgen – freeCodeCamp.org Podcast Interview

Summary

In this insightful episode of the Free Code Camp podcast, Quincy Larson converses with Per Borgen, the co-founder of Scrimba, about his transition from a software engineer to a tech entrepreneur. They delve into the origins and development of Scrimba, a platform revolutionizing coding education through interactive video technology. Borgen shares his journey, including the challenges and milestones of building Scrimba and its unique approach to teaching programming. Additionally, they explore the burgeoning field of AI engineering, discussing its implications for the future of tech and education. Borgen provides practical advice for leveraging AI in development and the potential career opportunities it presents, making a compelling case for the importance of AI skills in the current job market.

Takeaways

• 😊 Per started Scrimba after realizing the limitations of video tutorials for teaching coding
• 👨‍💻 Scrimba's interactive screencasts enable hands-on coding practice during lessons
• 🌎 Scrimba's low bandwidth needs make coding education accessible globally
• 💡 The chat UI was the key innovation enabling useful applications of AI models like GPT-3
• 🤖 AI engineering is focused on building experiences with AI, not researching algorithms
• 🔍 Learning AI engineering now can open career doors as demand grows for AI skills
• 📝 Start by envisioning an AI prototype for your dream company to showcase your skills
• ☁️ Running AI models yourself allows custom data and guardrails for safety
• 📚 Scrimba's AI engineering path provides a fast track for mastering AI application
• 😎 Building novel AI prototypes can capture employer attention and create new roles

Q & A

Who is the founder of Scrimba, and what is his background?

Per Borgen is the founder of Scrimba. He is a software engineer turned tech founder who went through Y Combinator and runs the popular website Scrimba that teaches coding.

What is the main difference between the Norwegian tech scene and Silicon Valley, according to Per Borgen?

According to Per Borgen, the main difference is size and ambition. The Norwegian tech scene is much smaller and was less ambitious, especially when he started out as a founder. However, it is becoming more international with time.

How does Per Borgen describe his transition into coding?

Per Borgen describes his transition into coding as a move to overcome a sense of inadequacy in the tech industry for not knowing how to code. He attended a peer-to-peer driven boot camp in London called Founders and Coders to learn coding.

What inspired the creation of Scrimba?

The creation of Scrimba was inspired by the co-founder's challenge of recording coding tutorials and finding the process inefficient for both teachers and students. This led to the development of a more interactive and optimized way of learning coding through what eventually became Scrimba.

What are the main benefits of learning on Scrimba compared to traditional video tutorials?

The main benefits include forced hands-on coding practice for students, a focus on building actual applications rather than just learning theory, and the courses are designed to be highly interactive and problem-solving oriented.

What is AI engineering, and how is it different from AI research?

AI engineering focuses on applying AI APIs and models to build applications and user experiences, rather than training models or writing algorithms for AI models. It's closer to a web developer role, leveraging existing AI technologies.

Why is AI engineering considered a valuable skill in the current job market?

AI engineering is valuable because many companies are looking to incorporate AI into their products but lack the expertise. Having skills in AI engineering can open many doors for developers in this growing field.

How did Per Borgen suggest breaking into the tech industry with AI skills?

Per Borgen suggested finding an ideal company you want to work for, identifying a product or feature that could benefit from AI, and building a prototype to demonstrate your capabilities. This approach could help create a role within the company.

What is a Foundation model in AI?

A Foundation model in AI refers to models that have generalized intelligence capabilities, able to perform tasks across different domains such as language, image processing, and more, as opposed to models trained for narrow, specific tasks.

What does the term 'embedding' mean in AI?

In AI, an embedding is a mathematical representation that transforms an object, such as text, into an array of numbers that reflect the underlying meaning or features of the object, facilitating comparisons and processing by AI models.