GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Course objectives

General Objectives At the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding and practical ability in the field of Generative AI, essential for tackling and solving complex problems in generative artificial intelligence. Specific Objectives Knowledge and Understanding: Acquire an in-depth understanding of the principles behind image and text generation. Learn the structures and mechanisms of generative models based on diffusion techniques and autoregressive techniques. Critical Thinking and Judgment Skills: Critically evaluate the performance of generative AI models and how they are used in real-world scenarios. Analyze the challenges related to robustness in generative AI models and develop effective solutions. Communication Skills: Present and discuss the results of generative AI projects, demonstrating proficiency in the use of advanced tools such as Diffusion Models and Transformers. Learning Skills: Experiment with emerging technologies in the field of deep learning, such as LLMs, Vision LMs, Diffusion Models, Flow-based Models, etc. Apply theoretical knowledge in practical projects to tackle real-world problems.

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FABRIZIO SILVESTRI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
1. Introduction to Generative AI: overview and applications. 2. Probabilistic modeling: theory, distributions, MLE. 3. Autoregressive models: language and images. 4. Variational Autoencoders (VAEs): variational inference and applications. 5. Normalizing Flows: invertible transformations and complex distributions. 6. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): adversarial training and improvements. 7. Energy-based and score-based models: score matching and energy functions. 8. Diffusion models: stochastic processes and recent techniques. 9. Image applications: generation and manipulation. 10. Text applications: language models and synthesis. 11. Graph and molecule generation: GNN and scientific applications. 12. Evaluation of generative models: metrics and challenges.
Prerequisites
* Basic knowledge of machine learning. * Knowledge of probability and statistics (distributions, expectation, independence, estimation). * Differential calculus and linear algebra (partial derivatives, matrices). * Programming experience in Python, including tools like PyTorch.
Books
Lecture notes and materials provided by the instructor.
Frequency
* Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended.
Exam mode
* Final group project: 30% * Written exam: 70%
Lesson mode
* The course will be conducted through lectures combined with practical exercises. Each session will include both theoretical discussions and hands-on work.
FABRIZIO SILVESTRI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
1. Introduction to Generative AI: overview and applications. 2. Probabilistic modeling: theory, distributions, MLE. 3. Autoregressive models: language and images. 4. Variational Autoencoders (VAEs): variational inference and applications. 5. Normalizing Flows: invertible transformations and complex distributions. 6. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): adversarial training and improvements. 7. Energy-based and score-based models: score matching and energy functions. 8. Diffusion models: stochastic processes and recent techniques. 9. Image applications: generation and manipulation. 10. Text applications: language models and synthesis. 11. Graph and molecule generation: GNN and scientific applications. 12. Evaluation of generative models: metrics and challenges.
Prerequisites
* Basic knowledge of machine learning. * Knowledge of probability and statistics (distributions, expectation, independence, estimation). * Differential calculus and linear algebra (partial derivatives, matrices). * Programming experience in Python, including tools like PyTorch.
Books
Lecture notes and materials provided by the instructor.
Frequency
* Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended.
Exam mode
* Final group project: 30% * Written exam: 70%
Lesson mode
* The course will be conducted through lectures combined with practical exercises. Each session will include both theoretical discussions and hands-on work.
  • Lesson code10620853
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseEngineering in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year1st year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDING-INF/05
  • CFU6