Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days. It’s in your phone, in your car, and sometimes even behind the drive-thru window of your favorite fast food joint. And this is just the beginning. Over the next few years, AI is poised to progress even further and weave itself into the fabric of our everyday lives, so it’s never been more important to understand how it works.
Luckily, there are tons of great resources online that can help you boost your AI skills and understanding, and we’ve gathered all of the best ones in this article. So whether you’re a professional looking to upskill, a student hoping to prepare for your career, or simply a curious learner who wants to understand a rapidly evolving technology that’s shaping our world, there’s something here for you.
Best of all? All of the courses listed below are either totally free or can be accessed with a free trial membership. Enjoy!
For an Interactive Intro to Chatbots
Of all the introductory courses on AI, this one is arguably the simplest, shortest, and most foundational, so it’s a great place to start. Over the course of seven interactive lessons (all of which only take a few minutes to complete), it breaks down the fundamentals of large language models (LLMs) and how they do what they do. Don’t worry if you don’t have any prior computer science education, either. This course is so approachable that even if you’ve never used a computer before, you’ll still be able to grasp the core concepts and walk away with a working knowledge of generative AI.
For a Quick Intro to Generative AI
Another excellent course for beginners is Google’s Introduction to Generative AI. Featuring one 22-minute video and roughly a half hour of reading, it’s a bit longer and more in-depth than Brilliant’s bite-size lessons, but still very approachable. And the best part? If you complete the course and pass the quiz at the end, you can get a certificate you can show off on your LinkedIn profile.
For a Comprehensive Intro to AI in General
If you’re after a more in-depth and comprehensive course on AI, Google’s AI Essentials might be for you. Rather than focusing exclusively on generative AI and large language models, the course goes over the fundamentals of machine learning more broadly, breaks down what artificial intelligence is (and isn’t) capable of, and explains how you can use it in your personal and professional life to be more productive. You’ll need to commit more time to this one, though, as the course material takes about 10 hours to complete.
“Intro to AI” from IBM
Uncover the fundamentals of AI, explore its applications, and learn how it’s changing business.
Much like Google’s Essentials course, IBM’s Intro to AI series is an excellent primer on AI in a general sense. It goes over everything from deep learning and neural networks to natural language processing, computer vision, and AI ethics—thereby providing a more rounded look at artificial intelligence than some of the other courses on this list. As such, it’s a good course to take if you’re simply looking to boost your understanding of AI, not necessarily learn ways to use it and apply it. For that, check out the next course on our list.
For Building Work-Related AI Skills
If you already have a decent grasp of how AI works and are more interested in learning how to leverage it in your personal and professional life, Microsoft’s LinkedIn Learning course on AI and productivity is a fantastic resource. The first few lessons will teach you the fundamentals of prompt engineering and AI-assisted productivity hacks, while the latter parts of the class focus specifically on how to use generative AI to make things like PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets.
For a Focus on Neural Networks
If you need to beef up your understanding of AI in a hurry, we highly recommend this 15-lesson course from Brilliant. It starts off with a quick explanation of the core concepts behind neural networks, but then quickly goes beyond the basics and introduces you to more advanced topics like XOR gates and sigmoid neurons—all while remaining highly approachable and easy to understand. Don’t worry if you don’t have a computer science background, either; Brilliant’s lessons are always designed so that anybody can dive in and understand the course material immediately, regardless of their educational level.
Recommended by Our Editors
For anyone interested in going beyond the basics and jumping straight into using and building AI, this course is a must. As the name suggests, the class gives you the tools and skills you need to not only understand chatbots, but actually start creating your own – all without any coding or programming knowledge. Plus, much like many of the other courses on this list, you can earn a certificate if you complete all the lessons and pass the exam at the end.
This course from Microsoft not only offers a great mix of introductory knowledge about AI and how it works, but also some really great practical applications and tutorials on how to use it for your job. It’s primarily focused on how to use Microsoft’s Copilot AI in the context of work, but don’t write this one off if you don’t run a Windows machine or tend to use other AI chatbots—many of the tips, tricks, and techniques in the course are broad enough that you can apply them anywhere, with whatever AI tool you prefer.
For a Primer on Prompt Engineering
For anyone who already has a decent grasp of how generative AI works and is more interested in learning how to use it more effectively, IBM’s 7-hour course on prompt engineering is a great place to start. The curriculum quickly recaps the basics and then gets straight into the nitty-gritty details of how to get AI to generate exactly what you want. Along the way, you’ll also be introduced to tools and techniques that professional prompt engineers use to get better results.
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