The first two introductory courses cover a lot of immediately applicable content, such as how to use prompt tuning to get the best out of large language models. There’s also a course on the responsible usage of AI.
Although there’s no official qualification, you will be awarded a completion badge that you can attach to your digital resume. Google has also recently expanded its paid certificates program which can be accessed through Coursera and has made its free courses available in 18 additional languages.
2. Microsoft’s “Transform Your Business With AI” course
This Microsoft learning path is designed, as the tech giant says, to help businesspeople acquire “the knowledge and resources to adopt AI in their organizations”, and explores “planning, strategizing, and scaling AI projects in a responsible way.”
Microsoft says the objectives for this course are to become familiar with existing AI tools, understand basic AI terminology and practices, and use prebuilt AI to build intelligent applications.
To enroll in this course, which is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, Microsoft says you’ll need a “basic understanding” of IT and business concepts. Modules included in the pathway are:
Leverage AI tools and resources for your business (55 mins)Create business value from AI (21 min)Embrace responsible AI principles and practices (48 mins)Scale AI in your organization (36 mins)
3. Google’s “Machine Learning Foundational Course”
Along with the foundational AI course mentioned above, Google also provides an introductory course on machine learning that’s available for free. You can access the course with your Google Workspace or personal account, and there’s actually a surprising amount of material included, considering it’s free.
Included as part of the material is a “crash course” to machine learning, a section on “problem framing” and a course on how to prepare your data for machine learning workflows. Included are freely accessible videos explaining core concepts, provided by machine learning experts. You’ll then be able to “check your understanding” at the end of each section with a quiz.
While this course is a little more advanced than the other Google course to make this list – and has a bit more of a business focus – it’s worth checking out if your company is looking for new ways to implement AI/machine learning in the workplace.
4. LinkedIn’s “Career Essentials In Generative AI” training course
LinkedIn’s AI Career Essentials Course is made up of five different videos, with a total run time of around four hours. Each video is hosted by a different AI expert, covering a range of core concepts and ethical considerations relating to AI models.
One of the videos provides a detailed explanation of how to streamline your work with Microsoft Bing Chat, while another discusses the key differences between search engines and reasoning engines. Although there’s no accreditation or certification, completing this course will earn you a badge of completion from LinkedIn, which can be displayed on your profile.
The fifth video in the series, entitled “an Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” is an hour and a half long and provides a simplified overview of the best AI tools for businesses, which is handy for those who haven’t taken the plunge yet and implemented a tool in work.
5. IBM’s “AI Foundations for Everyone” training course
IBM offers a course entitled “AI Foundations for Everyone” through Coursera, of which over 2,000 people have already signed up for in just February 2024. You can audit the course for free, which will give you access to all of the materials and some of the assignments, but you won’t be graded or get a certificate at the end. For that, you’ll need a Coursera subscription.
It’s geared toward beginners and you don’t need prior experience to enroll, and the schedule is flexible so you can learn at your own pace. Along with AI fundamentals, the course will also ensure you’re familiar with IBM’s own AI services, which help businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their existing infrastructure.
IBM says that, by the end of the course, participants will have had “hands-on interactions with several AI environments and applications”.
The course has three modules: “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence”, “Getting Started with AI using IBM Watson”, and “Building AI-Powered Chatbots Without Programming”. Each module takes between nine and eleven hours to complete.
6. Digital Partner’s “The Fundamentals of ChatGPT” training course
Digital Partner’s course entitled “The fundamentals of ChatGPT” is a great option for anyone who wants to take a free, accredited course that covers the basics of Generative AI. As of February 2024, more than 8,000 learners have completed the short course.
During the course, you’ll spend time learning about OpenAI’s role in global AI development, and be able to learn about how ChatGPT works, its advantages and limitations. There’s also a variety of examples included within the course that will show you how to leverage ChatGPT for different tasks, and you’ll learn more about the difference between ChatGPT and ChatGPT Plus.
Modules include “Working With ChatGPT”, “ChatGPT and Its Shortcomings” and “Training a GPT Model”. This free course is available on alison.com, and is published by a digital marketing firm called Digital Partner. The course is CPD accredited and a certificate will be awarded upon completion of a small assessment at the end of the 1.5-3 hour program.
7. DeepLearning.AI’s “AI for Everyone” (Coursera)
Not to be confused with IBM’s similarly-named online AI training course, DeepLearning.AI’s “AI for Everyone” short course is worth enrolling in just to see what the fuss is all about. 1.2 million people have enrolled in this course and more than 40,000 have reviewed it, with an average score of 4,8/5 in February 2024 – perhaps because it’s run by lecturer Andrew Ng, an instructor with over 40 courses published on the site.
This course is split up into four broad modules: What Is AI?, Building AI Projects, Building AI in Your Company, and AI in Society. All four of the modules take less than an hour to complete, so you could feasibly complete the course in a day if you’re prepared to take the quizzes designed to recap each module.
Like most Coursera courses, you’ll be able to audit the course and access all the materials for free, although you’ll have to sign up for a paid account if you want the relevant accreditation once you complete the course.
8. Phil Ebner’s ChatGPT, Midjourney, Firefly, Bard, DALL-E” AI crash course
While some good courses on Udemy will guide you through the ins and outs of MidJourney and other AI generation tools, Phil Ebner covers the most ground, and more than 30,000 students have already enrolled in the course, which has a 4.6/5 rating on Udemy.
The course is almost two hours long and also includes content that will help you better use tools like ChatGPT to generate text responses as well as images.
The “AI for Visual Creativity” section, however, will show you how to use both MidJourney and Dall-E to create “photorealistic images, illustrations, and digital art in a variety of styles. With OpenAI’s Sora video generator seemingly just around the corner, there’s never been a better time to learn the basic principles of AI video generation and the tools that can do it.
On Udemy, you don’t receive certificates of completion for free courses, but if you’re just looking to upskill yourself free of charge, this course is definitely worth a look.
