Through engaging dialogues between the knowledgeable Dr. AI and his eager student, Xiao Ming, this book demystifies large language models (LLMs) step by step. The conversational style creates an immersive, classroom like experience that is both accessible and insightful.

The journey starts with a brief overview of the essential mathematics, followed by a clear introduction to neural networks and deep learning. Next, it unpacks the Transformer architecture—the core engine behind modern LLMs. This book then explores key models like GPT and BERT, along with advanced training techniques such as reinforcement learning, the PPO algorithm, and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF).

Ideal for beginners curious about LLMs, AI engineers and developers, as well as educators teaching related courses, this book offers a clear and practical path to understanding the core ideas shaping today's most transformative AI technologies.

Ma Shaoping, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University and holder of the Bosch Chair in Knowledge Representation and Reasoning. He currently serves as Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence General Education, Executive Associate Dean of the “Tiangong” Intelligent Computing Institute, and Director of the Information Acquisition Research Center at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence—all within Tsinghua University.