Fast AI

What is Fast.ai?

Fast.ai is a deep learning library for Python that aims to simplify the process of building and training neural networks. It is built on top of PyTorch and provides a high-level API that makes it easy for beginners to get started with deep learning while still offering flexibility and customization for more advanced users.

Why use Fast.ai?

Fast.ai offers several benefits for deep learning practitioners:

  • Simplified API: Fast.ai provides a high-level API that simplifies the process of building, training, and evaluating deep learning models.
  • Pretrained models: Fast.ai includes a wide range of pretrained models for various tasks, such as image classification, natural language processing, and tabular data processing.
  • Transfer learning: Fast.ai makes it easy to apply transfer learning techniques to fine-tune pretrained models on custom datasets.
  • Learning resources: Fast.ai offers extensive learning resources, including an online course, a book, and a vibrant community.

Fast.ai example:

Here’s a simple example of using Fast.ai for image classification:

from fastai.vision.all import *

# Download and prepare the dataset
path = untar_data(URLs.PETS)
files = get_image_files(path/"images")
dls = ImageDataLoaders.from_name_func(
    path, files, label_func=lambda x: x[0].isupper(), item_tfms=Resize(460), batch_tfms=aug_transforms()
)

# Create and train the model
learn = cnn_learner(dls, resnet34, metrics=accuracy)
learn.fine_tune(1)

This example downloads the Pets dataset, prepares the data for training, and fine-tunes a pretrained ResNet-34 model on the dataset.

Fast.ai resources: