Best AI courses – 6 awesome recommendations | AI in business #86

Why is it worthwhile to learn with AI courses?

It may be obvious to you, but even if it is, it bears repeating: today, artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept but a reality that is shaping the job market. Learning AI is an investment in your future, both personally and professionally. Here are three key reasons to pursue and explore AI courses:

• Adaptability to rapid changes in technology – AI is driving innovation in many industries, from medicine to finance, and its importance is predicted to grow. In the financial sector, for example, AI is helping to detect fraud and optimize risk management,
• Essential skills for the future of work– automation and AI are changing the way we work, and understanding these technologies is becoming critical for every employee and manager. In large-scale manufacturing, robots working alongside humans (cobots) are already commonplace, and operating them requires new skills,
• Potential for significant productivity gains – generative AI, when used properly, can increase productivity, which translates into better business results. A great example is the use of AI in marketing to personalize offers and communications with customers.

So it’s clear as day that AI courses are an opportunity to grow and gain an edge in a job market that is constantly changing.

What AI courses are worth taking?

Choosing the right AI course can be career-changing. Here are some recommended programs that stand out in the educational marketplace and are highly regarded by professionals.

IBM Applied AI Professional Certificate from Coursera

Coursera offers more than 800 AI courses and more than 25 courses and projects in generative AI. One of these, offered by Coursera in partnership with IBM (https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/applied-artifical-intelligence-ibm-watson-ai), provides a thorough and very comprehensive introduction to artificial intelligence. The course discusses:

• Programming in Python – ubiquitous in the field of artificial intelligence,
• Creating chatbots – which can contribute to more effective customer service but also to easier communication with the company’s internal knowledge base,
• Machine learning – refers to the various methods through which AI can acquire information about your company,
• Image recognition – using IBM Watson.

Students in this AI course also gain skills in artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, deep learning, Watson AI, and large language models. A 7-day free trial and financial aid are offered to make the AI course accessible to a broader audience. This is reflected in the enrollment numbers, with 7,850 individuals choosing to embark on their learning journey.

AI for Everyone from DeepLearning.AI

AI course for Everyone from DeepLearning (https://www.deeplearning.ai/courses/ai-for-everyone/) is addressed to non-technical individuals, including entrepreneurs, managers, and specialists, who wish to enhance their skills to better perform their daily tasks.

This wonderful resource allows you to understand AI technologies, learn about their applicability, and understand AI’s impact on society. It includes detailed information on the workflow of machine learning projects, an explanation of AI terminology, AI strategies, and how a typical data science project goes.

The AI course is designed for non-technical business professionals and machine learning engineers who want to explain AI capabilities to their managers in an accessible way. This course is free and provides an excellent introduction to the world of AI.

Generative AI for Everyone

Generative AI for Everyone (https://www.deeplearning.ai/courses/generative-ai-for-everyone/) teaches how generative artificial intelligence works, its applications and the impact it can have on business and society. Participants will gain skills in the following areas:

• practical use of generative AI tools,
• AI strategy for work and business
• AI productivity, and
• AI capabilities beyond creating simple prompts.

It is designed for business leaders, professionals, and anyone interested. No programming skills or prior knowledge of AI is required.

Source: DeepLearning.ai (https://www.deeplearning.ai/courses/generative-ai-for-everyone/)

AI for Good, or sustainable AI development

AI for Good (https://www.deeplearning.ai/courses/ai-for-good/) focuses on the role of AI in solving complex challenges, combining human and machine intelligence to positively impact the world.

The course provides skills related to frameworks for projects conducted by AI for Good, which include:

• Supervised Learning,
• Computer Vision,
• Natural Language Processing, and
• Exploratory data analysis.

It includes projects on topics like public health, climate change, and emergency management, and is open to anyone with experience working with data.

Introduction to AI from Google

Google’s Introduction to Generative AI (https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/paths/118 ) is an AI course that explains what generative AI is, its applications, and how it differs from traditional machine learning. The AI course covers several parts. They include, among others:

• Google tools – used for developing generative AI applications,
• Introduction to large language models – what LLMs are, cases of their usage, and fine-tuning prompts to enhance LLM performance,
• Introduction to responsible AI – emphasizes the importance of responsible AI and presents Google’s 7 AI principles.

The introductory AI course from Google mainly focuses on fundamental concepts and responsible implementation.

Source: DALL·E 3, prompt: Marta M. Kania (https://www.linkedin.com/in/martamatyldakania/)

AI for beginners from Microsoft

AI for beginners from Microsoft (https://microsoft.github.io/AI-For-Beginners/) is a 12-week teaching program comprising 24 lessons that cover various approaches to AI, including symbolic AI, neural networks, computer vision, NLP, and other methodologies.

The teaching program includes practical lessons, quizzes, and labs, and covers TensorFlow, PyTorch, as well as the principles of AI ethics. The AI course offers 12 lessons on topics such as:

• writing prompts – creating commands for generative artificial intelligence,
• prompt engineering – advanced principles of prompt creation, enabling AI to generate complex outputs and reason in the way we need,
• creating AI applications – using AI itself.

What AI certifications count in business?

AI certificates serve as indicators of acquired skills and knowledge, opening doors to new professional opportunities. Therefore, it is worthwhile to invest in courses that offer certified completion of the training.

Coursera is a reputable platform offering certificates from top global universities. Consider local courses too, but be cautious and check the qualifications of instructors, as AI is sometimes taught by individuals without the proper credentials.

The role of CLO in a company implementing AI

Learning and implementing AI in a company goes beyond taking AI courses. Small businesses may find hiring external experts expensive, so some choose to appoint a Chief Learning Officer (CLO) to manage learning processes internally.

The chief learning officer (CLO) plays a key role in guiding teams and organizations through the opportunities presented by learning new technologies like AI. Their duties include evaluating employees’ skills and capabilities and strategically choosing courses for skill expansion. This helps the organization to grow effectively.

Summary. AI courses for business

AI education is booming, with a 157% year-over-year increase in enrollments for generative AI courses on Coursera. Users on Coursera for Business searched for terms like “AI,” “ChatGPT,” and “generative AI” 445% more frequently year over year. The course “Generative AI with Large Language Models” by DeepLearning.AI + AWS is one of the most popular courses in terms of enrollments within the first 30 days on Coursera.

We believe the above data speaks for itself. Choosing the right AI course can be crucial for your professional development and the success of your company. Therefore, it’s worth taking the time to delve into this fascinating field and acquire skills that will not only help you survive but also thrive in the future, where skills will be significantly influenced by AI.

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