This course will give an introduction to information theory – the mathematical theory of information. Ever since its inception, information theory has had a profound impact on society. It underpins important technological developments, from reliable memories to mobile phone standards, and its versatile mathematical toolbox has found use in computer science, machine learning, physics, electrical engineering, mathematics, and many other disciplines.

Starting from probability theory, we will discuss how to mathematically model information sources and communication channels, how to optimally compress information, and how to design error-correcting codes that allow us to reliably communicate over noisy communication channels. We will also see how techniques used in information theory can be applied more generally to make predictions from noisy data.

For more information, please see the course homepage: https://qi.rub.de/it_ss23
Semester: ST 2024