Who knew that one fine day we would be living the rosy future which everyone has been gushing about for ages? With the inception of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in every other industry vertical. The disruptive tech has become a successful household name, and I am pretty sure you must have heard tons and tons of information regarding the tech and how it's been shaping our lives globally. So there is no debate about the tech establishing strong footholds in the field of software development; it's time to bring out a revolution within a revolution. Time to explore AI in the software development realm and how this works seamlessly.
The pace in AI is pretty incredible, especially in software development and mobile app development realms. So I am pretty sure that by far you must have a core idea where the following post will be heading. By the end of the post, I am sure you will be ready to harness the power of AI, which is no longer futuristic, so ignoring the concept can lead to unwanted downfalls.
To begin with, the tech has successfully introduced lots and lots of tools and technologies which can assist software developers in increasing efficiency, productivity and maintaining high accuracy. After the inception of generative AI (gen AI) and large language models (LLMs), it has been observed that the overall development cycle can be streamlined right from the beginning to the end (generating an idea to coding and testing).
So what generative AI does is, let’s say if a developer has an idea in mind, the tech will successfully transform the idea into requirements and then convert them into user stories, and of course, accurate documentation. As a result, the overall development process automatically speeds up, and you are bound to receive an enhanced quality of the final product.
Here are some of the key areas where AI is largely being considered: Code generation to detect bugs, error detection, testing automation, managing different projects, enhancing security, refactoring, optimisation, DevOps and CI/CD pipelines, UX design and more. No wonder the way we conduct development projects has changed. Now, have you ever come across the term AI frameworks?
Unfortunately, many of you might not be thoroughly convinced, but AI frameworks are the ultimate foundation of any successful development project. Let us understand what the prominent AI frameworks are and how to choose them wisely.
What are AI frameworks?
As the name implies, much like any other framework, these are a pure collection of libraries that work in sync with developers to create and deploy AI algorithms much more easily. If you are willing to develop well-advanced, intelligent systems that can evolve, then this is it; you no longer have to look forward.
So, keeping in mind what exactly you want to design, an AI framework can offer pre-made building blocks mainly featuring templates, functions and libraries where you no longer have to write each line from scratch. A well-uniformed development environment is all you need to integrate different platforms and apps like never before.
Here, down below, I would like to mention some key benefits of using AI frameworks.
Standard and Best Practices - By using well-standardised practices, development teams can collaborate in a highly efficient manner and lessen discrepancies in output. Moreover, you are bound to get simplified code and easy onboarding of developers.
High Scalability - With the help of modern AI frameworks, it is possible to establish support training across multiple GPUs, TPUs, or distributed clusters. Therefore, high scalability is extremely important to ensure that enterprises can seamlessly work with large datasets or deep neural networks, which is why models can be trained faster and are more efficient. Some of the popular examples to consider here are TensorFlow and PyTorch.
Seamless Integration - Every AI framework is developed to be integrated in the most seamless manner with the existing systems. Irrespective of the situation, whether it’s connecting to a data pipeline (like Apache Kafka) or running on AWS SageMaker, integrating with APIs, Azure ML, or Google Vertex AI, and deploying to a Kubernetes cluster, here you are bound to find built-in utilities and plugins that not only lessen overhead expenses but also increase deployment time.
Rich Community and Ecosystem - AI frameworks are known for thriving open source communities, robust documentation, and active GitHub repositories. Some of the worth considering aspects include pre-trained models (e.g., ResNet, BERT, GPT), also if you need to take care of tasks such as visualisation and debugging, you will find different open-source tools, and a plethora of tutorials, example projects, and third-party extensions. Newcomers won’t be facing any kind of barriers.
Now, I am sure you must be wondering how these AI frameworks work. As mentioned earlier, an AI framework is a development environment that enables developers to choose libraries, tools, as well as app programming interfaces (APIs). By doing so, it is possible to enhance your existing machine learning and deep learning models.
By using these frameworks, what happens next is that there is no need to design each component right from scratch since there is an opportunity to use blocks again and again for conducting common processes such as data preprocessing, model architecture, and integration. TensorFlow can be used to develop neural networks, and this is possible using just a few lines of code due to built-in functions for data preparation, verification, node layering, and more.
Top AI Frameworks
Open source and proprietary AI frameworks are the most common types of AI frameworks found. Open source AI frameworks are free to use and ensure absolute transparency, evolution and higher community support. Since these models are open source, they can be easily customised, but they can have immense security risks and limited direct user support.
Whereas the proprietary framework features a managed environment and ensures high security measures, enterprise-level support, and specific built-in tools. In addition, high customer support and user friendliness are given, but the transparency is lower and needs proper investments to be made.
TensorFlow
If you are looking for an open source, end-to-end platform that is highly commended for disruptive technologies such as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, then this is it. The framework is developed by Google and meant to assist in creating and deploying relevant AI and ML models. TensorFlow assists in taking care of tasks such as image recognition, NLP, and recommendation systems, offering flexible tools and high-level APIs (like Keras). No wonder companies such as Google, Twitter (X), Spotify, and PayPal are vouching for the AI framework.
You see, dealing with machine learning models can be pretty daunting and tiresome due to their complex discipline, but here’s where Google’s TensorFlow comes into play. The AI framework assists in conducting several tasks, such as easy acquisition of data, training models, serving predictions, and refining future results. One of the most interesting aspects of the tech is that it is great in dealing with unstructured data, including photos, audio, and text.
TensorFlow models are extremely good at image and speech recognition, object identification, natural language processing (NLP), and reinforcement learning. If you are dealing with complex and complicated machine learning jobs and every other demand for developing cutting-edge AI development, then this is it. Some of the pros of the AI framework include:
- Great flexibility
- High scalability
- Extensive ecosystem
- Higher community support
The only concern is that Tensorflow has a steep learning curve, is intensive on computing resources and is less user-friendly for prototyping.
PyTorch
The next type of AI framework is PyTorch. Now this framework should be considered in case you are conducting development, and you need to prioritise the ability to alter. The open-source library was developed by Facebook’s AI research lab. Much like TensorFlow, PyTorch turns out to be one of the leading prominent deep learning frameworks, which is pretty much in vogue among practitioners as well as researchers. Highly considered due to its unmatchable flexibility and readability, the AI framework is highly suited for developing apps that require absolute experimentation. Several deep learning areas, such as computer vision and reinforcement learning, need PyTorch. Also, you will come across several debugging and user-friendly model creation features; no wonder professionals who choose PyTorch are more willing to try new ideas and assist in troubleshooting along the way.
What’s more amazing is that PyTorch offers strong community support, which means you are bound to receive whatever you ask for. With an abundance of resources at your fingertips, nothing can stop you from exploring the latest concepts, and you also get a proper overview of how other developers tend to overcome challenges. What‘s more to ask for, here you have easy access to pre-training models as well as tutorials, so nothing can stop you from developing a new bunch of skills after a while you have explored the basics of the framework. Some of the benefits offered by PyTorch are:
Dynamic Computational Graph - The AI framework is great for research and ensures iterative development is conducted right up to the mark. So no matter what, any changes can be made whenever needed.
High-Level APIs - User-friendly and highly intuitive APIs should be considered for rapid prototyping as well as experimentation.
Strong NLP and CV Support - The AI framework works wonders for natural language processing and computer vision, and what’s more interesting here, you are bound to receive absolute library support.
ONNX Compatibility - Easily interoperable with Open Neural Network Exchange, this makes model sharing much easier.
Of course, there are a bunch of cons as well. PyTorch might be great for research work, but other framework, such as TensorFlow, has more production-level tools available. Moreover, the community is still catching up.
Keras
Another interesting AI framework that must be taken into consideration, especially by deep learning aficionados, is Keras. Yes, if you are looking for a high-level neural network development tool, then this is it. A simple, straightforward interface can be successfully developed to develop deep learning models. The coding structure is absolutely clear, and you will find simple building blocks, which means the stack is ready-to-use and different apps such as NLP, large language models (LLMs), time-series forecasting, and recommendation systems.
Kera is highly recommended for serving a user-friendly approach to developing as well as training models like never before. What’s more amazing aspect here the AI framework enables easy handling of the complexities of tensor algebra, optimisation techniques, etc. Of course, the AI framework has lots and lots of community support and resources present, so developing projects from mere concepts to fulfilment is no biggie. Some of the benefits offered by Keras include:
User-Friendly Interface - Simple, intuitive API, which is amazing as well as ideal for beginners and ensures rapid prototyping.
Flexibility with Backends - Works wonders with a wide range of backends such as Tensorflow, Theano, and CNTK, providing flexibility across projects.
Extensive Documentation - Comprehensive resources, as well as tutorials, ease the learning process like never before, as well as the development workflow.
As long as its disadvantages are, the AI framework lacks lower-level control and is slower in comparison to other frameworks. On and all, the framework is ideal for developing high-level apps.
Hugging Face Transformers
Another significant AI framework is Hugging Face Transformers. The framework is pretty important since it has been empowering developers to take care of several complex and complicated tasks, ranging from text generation to summarisation, translation using large language models (LLMs), including GPT, as well as BERT. Highly recommended for its accessibility, here you are bound to receive seamless access to pre-trained models. Moreover, all setup-related complexities can be reduced, and this doesn’t mean there is any kind of compromise with functionality. Another fascinating aspect to consider is that the AI framework incorporates a vibrant community that keeps on offering new resources and enhancements, ensuring the framework remains absolutely cutting-edge as well as highly supported. Right from chatbots to sentiment analysis and other text-based apps, the AI framework works wonders like never before. Hugging Face Transformers successfully facilitates rapid NLP integration; no wonder the framework seems appealing for all kinds of professionals, including newbies as well as experienced ones. Some core benefits to consider:
Pre-Trained Models - You are bound to receive a wide range of pre-trained models for NLP, from BERT to GPT, simplifying NLP tasks.
User-friendly - Pretty amazing for developing NLP and LLM tasks, which no longer require a deep understanding of underlying algorithms.
Strong Community - Backed by a strong and active community where updates happen on a frequent basis and at any point in time, resources, tools, and models can be incorporated.
Versatile Apps - This particular AI framework is highly considered in developing chatbots, text summarisation, translation and taking care of other language-based tasks.
As long as the cons are concerned, Hugging Face Transformers is highly recommended for NLP and LLMs, which means you might end up facing computational demands and have to rely on frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow, especially if you need proper backend support.
Scikit-Learn
Last but certainly not least, one is Scikit-Learn. This one can be considered as one of the leading machine learning libraries, all because of its broad range of functionalities, which can assist in spanning all stages of the machine learning project. Right from proper data processing to manipulation, feature engineering, model training and of course, evaluating.
The comprehensive and highly intuitive API ensures end users can get started with things pretty early basis or should I say right away. Not to mention, the tech incorporates a user-friendly interface, which means it is possible to experiment seamlessly with alternative models, and this is as simple as changing a single line of code.
What is Scikit-Learn mainly used for? It is used to conduct numerous machine learning tasks such as classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality reduction. What’s more interesting here is that the tech features vast end-to-end functionality, which means any kind of project can be developed using a single tool.
The AI tech is highly recommended for dealing with small - to medium-sized datasets, especially ones that require strong and dependable implementation of different machine learning algorithms. Also, it features a simple API and comprehensive documentation, which means it is an amazing choice to pick for new as well as existing users. Moreover, the machine learning library works wonders for individuals who need to prototype and test models quickly.
How to pick the right AI framework?
Given the fact that there are numerous AI frameworks available, picking an ideal one could be an extremely difficult, daunting task. Fret not, here you will learn about all the necessary criteria that can assist you in achieving a successful outcome.
Focus on the Performance
One of the most important and deciding factors has to be performance. You have to choose a framework based on performance. You see, different frameworks have different kinds of speed and scalability, which means this can lead to differences in terms of implementation.
Is the Framework Highly Scalable and Flexible?
The next differentiating factor to consider is whether the chosen AI framework enables high scalability and flexibility or not. Choosing a flexible AI framework means you are bound to spot rapid prototyping as well as modification. Irrespective of changing needs and the app’s needs, choosing a framework that is flexible and works in accordance with the app’s needs is a pretty win-win situation.
How is the Community Support?
Last but certainly not least, one is how the community supports. Each framework grows in terms of community over a significant period of time. Having a large and active community can assist pretty much especially if you get stuck somewhere or experience any kind of problem or need clarification on if you have no idea regarding how certain things work.
Here are Quick Matches for You!
- If you prioritise performance and scalability - TensorFlow
- If you want flexibility - PyTorch
- If you want to get acquainted with neural network development - Keras
- If you want to work across multiple AI frameworks - Learn ONNX
- If you want to prioritise security and ensure end-to-end support - Amazon SageMaker
- If you need a low-code environment, you can think of Azure Machine Learning
Conclusion
The present and future of AI frameworks is pretty rosy, no two ways about it. Each day, we keep on pushing boundaries, and frameworks are becoming more sophisticated and versatile to meet the ever-evolving needs within the industry. Some of the core benefits of using AI frameworks mean you are bound to receive interoperability like never before, access support for hybrid models, and quick cross-platform integrations, ensuring seamless transactions among devices.
With edge computing being highly integrated with AI, all procedures can lead to data sources, boosting responsiveness for real-time applications. The AI frameworks will be reshaping all, thanks to unprecedented capabilities and greater speed.
So what are you sitting tight for? Are you ready to burrow into the world of AI systems and find out how they can drive the triumph of your app's meanders? Time to make that choice. I hope you did find the following post worth considering, and in case you have any doubts or queries, feel free to mention them in the comment section below.
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