The Welch Labs Illustrated Guide to AI: Volume I

A Visual and Mathematical Journey into AI 🧠

Most artificial intelligence books either skip the math entirely or bury you in dense notation before you can see why the ideas matter. The Welch Labs Illustrated Guide to AI: Volume I takes a different path. Created by Stephen Welch, the educator behind the popular Welch Labs YouTube channel, this ebook pairs clear visual explanations with the underlying mathematics, so you can actually understand what modern AI is doing—and why it works.

Find the Bottom of Deep Learning

The book starts with the foundations: artificial neurons, gradient descent, backpropagation, and multilayer models. Welch guides readers step by step through these core algorithms, showing how simple matrix operations combine into surprisingly powerful learning systems. From there, the journey moves into today’s most important topics, including scaling laws, mechanistic interpretability, attention, and diffusion models.

Learn by Doing, Not Just Reading

Each chapter includes:

• Video companions that follow the same path as the book
• Code examples to run and modify
• Exercises ranging from guided walkthroughs to deeper challenges, with solutions provided
• Wide margins designed for notes and personal annotations

Depth Over Breadth

Welch is intentional about what he leaves out. The book focuses on a smaller number of ideas and explores them thoroughly, rather than skimming dozens of topics. This approach gives readers a stable mental model they can build on—whether they’re preparing for more advanced study, working on their own projects, or simply trying to understand the technology behind today’s AI systems.

Written for Curious Learners

If you’re comfortable with basic algebra and are willing to engage with the material, the illustrated explanations and careful pacing make deep learning approachable. Whether you’re a student, developer, researcher, or enthusiast, this volume offers a solid, lasting understanding of the field’s essential machinery.