Artificial Neural Network (ANN)
A computing system inspired by biological neural networks, consisting of interconnected nodes (neurons) organized in layers that process information.
Architecture
Input layer receives data, hidden layers transform it through weighted connections and activation functions, output layer produces predictions. Each connection has a learnable weight adjusted during training via backpropagation.
Types
Feedforward: Information flows in one direction. Convolutional (CNN): Specialized for spatial data. Recurrent (RNN): Has loops for sequential data. Transformer: Uses attention mechanisms. Graph Neural Network: Operates on graph-structured data.