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20 Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence Influencers To Follow In 2024

20 Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence Influencers To Follow In 2024

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Shruti Sarkar
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January 31, 2020
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3 min read
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Currently employed as the Director of Machine Learning in the Special Projects Group at Apple Inc., Ian Goodfellow has majorly contributed to the Deep Learning space. He is the inventor of generative adversarial networks, an ML technique that is being used by Facebook. Earlier in his career, he worked with Google, playing a key role in Street Smart (Google Maps) and Google Brain (AI Research) teams. Besides that, he has also co-authored a comprehensive book, Deep Learning, alongside Yoshua Beng and Aaron Courville.



Jason Brownlee11. Jason Brownlee
Follow @TeachTheMachine
With the aim of ‘making developers awesome at Machine Learning’, Jason Brownlee founded the Machine Learning Mastery—a community offering various collaterals to help developers enhance their skills of applied Machine Learning.





Jess Hamrick12. Jess Hamrick
Follow @jhamrick
Currently employed as a research scientist at DeepMind, Jess Hamrick is a cognitive science enthusiast. Her key research area lies in human cognition by combining ML models with cognitive science. She is also one of the key maintainers of Jupyter/nbgrader—an open-source tool used to creating and grading assignments in the Jupyter notebook.



Kirk Borne13. Dr. Kirk Borne
Follow @KirkDBorne
Dr. Kirk Borne, a data scientist and astrophysicist, is one of the leading influencers in the Big Data/Data Science/AI space. He is currently employed as the Principal Data Scientist and Executive Advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton. He has also been a professor of astrophysics and computational science at George Mason University for over twelve years. His work has majorly contributed to various projects including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.



Martin Ford14. Martin Ford
Follow @MFordFuture
Martin Ford is a well-acclaimed futurist and a keynote speaker, elaborating on topics such as AI and robotics, and their possible impacts on the market, economy, and society. He is also an author of three books, including the New York Times bestseller, Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. He is also the Consulting Artificial Intelligence Expert for the Rise of the Robots Index project for Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking.



Mike Tamir15. Mike Tamir
Follow @MikeTamir
Mike Tamir is currently the Chief Machine Learning Scientist and head of ML/AI at Susquehanna International Group, LLP (SIG). He is also a Data Science faculty member at UC Berkeley. Prior to this, he served as the Head of Data Science at Uber Advanced Technologies Group, and as the Chief Science Officer at Galvanize Inc. Earlier in his career, he was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University.



Oriol Vinyals16. Oriol Vinyals
Follow @OriolVinyalsML
Oriol Vinyals is employed as a Principal Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, leading the Deep Learning team there. He has also led the AlphaStar team that developed the first AI that defeats the top professional players of the game, StarCraft. In the past, he was a Senior Research Scientist in the Google Brain team.



Peter Skomoroch17. Peter Skomoroch
Follow @peteskomoroch
Presently serving as a senior executive and investor for numerous ML-driven startups and venture capital funds, Peter Skomoroch has over twenty years of experience in the Data Science industry. Over the years, he has worked as a Senior Research Engineer at the AOL Search Analytics team, Director of Analytics at Juice Analytics, Principal Data Scientist at LinkedIn, CEO and Co-founder of SkipFlag, and Head of AI Automation & Data Products at Workday, among various other roles. At LinkedIn, he played a key role in ideating, creating, and deploying LinkedIn Skills and Endorsements.



Soumith Chintala18. Soumith Chintala
Follow @soumithchintala
Soumith Chintala has co-created and led PyTorch, an open-source Machine Learning library developed by the Facebook AI Research lab for Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing applications. Having worked in the past on projects such as Google Street View House Numbers, pedestrian detection, sentiment analysis, and at New York University, he is also an extensive researcher in the ML space.



Yann LeCun19. Yann LeCun
Follow @ylecun
Yann LeCun is the VP and Chief AI Scientist at Facebook, leading the scientific and technical AI research and development for the organization. In addition, he is a professor at New York University. Early on in his career, he headed the Image Processing Research Department at AT&T Labs Research. Being one of the Godfathers of AI, he has made a huge contribution in the field of Computer Vision and Optical Character Recognition. He is also one of the 2018 ACM A.M. Turing Award laureates for his contribution to the AI domain.



Yoshua Bengio20. Yoshua Bengio

Yoshua Bengio is one of the pioneers in the ML space, owing to his work on artificial neural networks and Deep Learning. He has been a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at the Université de Montréal for over twenty-five years. He also heads the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms. Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun are considered as the Godfathers of AI and have been awarded the 2018 ACM A.M. Turing Award for achieving major breakthroughs in deep neural networks.

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Revolutionizing Mobile Talent Hiring: The HackerEarth Advantage

The demand for mobile applications is exploding, but finding and verifying developers with proven, real-world skills is more difficult than ever. Traditional assessment methods often fall short, failing to replicate the complexities of modern mobile development.

Introducing a New Era in Mobile Assessment

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Now, assess mobile developers in their true native environment. Our enhanced Full Stack questions now offer full support for both Java and Kotlin, the core languages powering the Android ecosystem. This allows you to evaluate candidates on authentic, real-world app development skills, moving beyond theoretical knowledge to practical application.

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Say goodbye to setup drama and tool-switching. Candidates can now build, test, and debug Android and React Native applications directly within the browser-based IDE. This seamless, in-browser experience provides a true-to-life evaluation, saving valuable time for both candidates and your hiring team.

Assess the Skills That Truly Matter

With native Android support, your assessments can now delve into a candidate's ability to write clean, efficient, and functional code in the languages professional developers use daily. Kotlin's rapid adoption makes proficiency in it a key indicator of a forward-thinking candidate ready for modern mobile development.

Breakup of Mobile development skills ~95% of mobile app dev happens through Java and Kotlin
This chart illustrates the importance of assessing proficiency in both modern (Kotlin) and established (Java) codebases.

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Old Fragmented Way vs. The New, Integrated Way
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Vibe Coding: Shaping the Future of Software

A New Era of Code

Vibe coding is a new method of using natural language prompts and AI tools to generate code. I have seen firsthand that this change makes software more accessible to everyone. In the past, being able to produce functional code was a strong advantage for developers. Today, when code is produced quickly through AI, the true value lies in designing, refining, and optimizing systems. Our role now goes beyond writing code; we must also ensure that our systems remain efficient and reliable.

From Machine Language to Natural Language

I recall the early days when every line of code was written manually. We progressed from machine language to high-level programming, and now we are beginning to interact with our tools using natural language. This development does not only increase speed but also changes how we approach problem solving. Product managers can now create working demos in hours instead of weeks, and founders have a clearer way of pitching their ideas with functional prototypes. It is important for us to rethink our role as developers and focus on architecture and system design rather than simply on typing c

The Promise and the Pitfalls

I have experienced both sides of vibe coding. In cases where the goal was to build a quick prototype or a simple internal tool, AI-generated code provided impressive results. Teams have been able to test new ideas and validate concepts much faster. However, when it comes to more complex systems that require careful planning and attention to detail, the output from AI can be problematic. I have seen situations where AI produces large volumes of code that become difficult to manage without significant human intervention.

AI-powered coding tools like GitHub Copilot and AWS’s Q Developer have demonstrated significant productivity gains. For instance, at the National Australia Bank, it’s reported that half of the production code is generated by Q Developer, allowing developers to focus on higher-level problem-solving . Similarly, platforms like Lovable enable non-coders to build viable tech businesses using natural language prompts, contributing to a shift where AI-generated code reduces the need for large engineering teams. However, there are challenges. AI-generated code can sometimes be verbose or lack the architectural discipline required for complex systems. While AI can rapidly produce prototypes or simple utilities, building large-scale systems still necessitates experienced engineers to refine and optimize the code.​

The Economic Impact

The democratization of code generation is altering the economic landscape of software development. As AI tools become more prevalent, the value of average coding skills may diminish, potentially affecting salaries for entry-level positions. Conversely, developers who excel in system design, architecture, and optimization are likely to see increased demand and compensation.​
Seizing the Opportunity

Vibe coding is most beneficial in areas such as rapid prototyping and building simple applications or internal tools. It frees up valuable time that we can then invest in higher-level tasks such as system architecture, security, and user experience. When used in the right context, AI becomes a helpful partner that accelerates the development process without replacing the need for skilled engineers.

This is revolutionizing our craft, much like the shift from machine language to assembly to high-level languages did in the past. AI can churn out code at lightning speed, but remember, “Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand.” Use AI for rapid prototyping, but it’s your expertise that transforms raw output into robust, scalable software. By honing our skills in design and architecture, we ensure our work remains impactful and enduring. Let’s continue to learn, adapt, and build software that stands the test of time.​

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Guide to Conducting Successful System Design Interviews in 2025

What is Systems Design?

Systems Design is an all encompassing term which encapsulates both frontend and backend components harmonized to define the overall architecture of a product.

Designing robust and scalable systems requires a deep understanding of application, architecture and their underlying components like networks, data, interfaces and modules.

Systems Design, in its essence, is a blueprint of how software and applications should work to meet specific goals. The multi-dimensional nature of this discipline makes it open-ended – as there is no single one-size-fits-all solution to a system design problem.

What is a System Design Interview?

Conducting a System Design interview requires recruiters to take an unconventional approach and look beyond right or wrong answers. Recruiters should aim for evaluating a candidate’s ‘systemic thinking’ skills across three key aspects:

How they navigate technical complexity and navigate uncertainty
How they meet expectations of scale, security and speed
How they focus on the bigger picture without losing sight of details

This assessment of the end-to-end thought process and a holistic approach to problem-solving is what the interview should focus on.

What are some common topics for a System Design Interview

System design interview questions are free-form and exploratory in nature where there is no right or best answer to a specific problem statement. Here are some common questions:

How would you approach the design of a social media app or video app?

What are some ways to design a search engine or a ticketing system?

How would you design an API for a payment gateway?

What are some trade-offs and constraints you will consider while designing systems?

What is your rationale for taking a particular approach to problem solving?

Usually, interviewers base the questions depending on the organization, its goals, key competitors and a candidate’s experience level.

For senior roles, the questions tend to focus on assessing the computational thinking, decision making and reasoning ability of a candidate. For entry level job interviews, the questions are designed to test the hard skills required for building a system architecture.

The Difference between a System Design Interview and a Coding Interview

If a coding interview is like a map that takes you from point A to Z – a systems design interview is like a compass which gives you a sense of the right direction.

Here are three key difference between the two:

Coding challenges follow a linear interviewing experience i.e. candidates are given a problem and interaction with recruiters is limited. System design interviews are more lateral and conversational, requiring active participation from interviewers.

Coding interviews or challenges focus on evaluating the technical acumen of a candidate whereas systems design interviews are oriented to assess problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Coding interviews are based on a right/wrong approach with ideal answers to problem statements while a systems design interview focuses on assessing the thought process and the ability to reason from first principles.

How to Conduct an Effective System Design Interview

One common mistake recruiters make is that they approach a system design interview with the expectations and preparation of a typical coding interview.
Here is a four step framework technical recruiters can follow to ensure a seamless and productive interview experience:

Step 1: Understand the subject at hand

  • Develop an understanding of basics of system design and architecture
  • Familiarize yourself with commonly asked systems design interview questions
  • Read about system design case studies for popular applications
  • Structure the questions and problems by increasing magnitude of difficulty

Step 2: Prepare for the interview

  • Plan the extent of the topics and scope of discussion in advance
  • Clearly define the evaluation criteria and communicate expectations
  • Quantify constraints, inputs, boundaries and assumptions
  • Establish the broader context and a detailed scope of the exercise

Step 3: Stay actively involved

  • Ask follow-up questions to challenge a solution
  • Probe candidates to gauge real-time logical reasoning skills
  • Make it a conversation and take notes of important pointers and outcomes
  • Guide candidates with hints and suggestions to steer them in the right direction

Step 4: Be a collaborator

  • Encourage candidates to explore and consider alternative solutions
  • Work with the candidate to drill the problem into smaller tasks
  • Provide context and supporting details to help candidates stay on track
  • Ask follow-up questions to learn about the candidate’s experience

Technical recruiters and hiring managers should aim for providing an environment of positive reinforcement, actionable feedback and encouragement to candidates.

Evaluation Rubric for Candidates

Facilitate Successful System Design Interview Experiences with FaceCode

FaceCode, HackerEarth’s intuitive and secure platform, empowers recruiters to conduct system design interviews in a live coding environment with HD video chat.

FaceCode comes with an interactive diagram board which makes it easier for interviewers to assess the design thinking skills and conduct communication assessments using a built-in library of diagram based questions.

With FaceCode, you can combine your feedback points with AI-powered insights to generate accurate, data-driven assessment reports in a breeze. Plus, you can access interview recordings and transcripts anytime to recall and trace back the interview experience.

Learn how FaceCode can help you conduct system design interviews and boost your hiring efficiency.

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