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Richard Maxwell and Leighanne Miles

Unlock the potential of AI in your business with our AI for Beginners course. Tailored for business professionals, this course helps anyone in business learn what they need to know about AI (including Generative AI), so that they can evaluate AI and have informed conversations about AI in their business. It is a AI technology "primer" that takes you through the technology of AI, but always in a business context. This course:

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Unlock the potential of AI in your business with our AI for Beginners course. Tailored for business professionals, this course helps anyone in business learn what they need to know about AI (including Generative AI), so that they can evaluate AI and have informed conversations about AI in their business. It is a AI technology "primer" that takes you through the technology of AI, but always in a business context. This course:

  • Gives you a Brief History of AI in Business - Understand the evolution of AI and its impact on business.

  • Teaches You Key Concepts and Terminology - Get familiar with essential AI concepts and jargon you’ll encounter.

  • Gives you an Understanding of Current AI Capabilities - Learn about the latest AI technologies and their practical applications in business.

  • Helps You To Evaluate AI Use Cases - Arm yourself with critical questions to determine if AI is right for your business needs.

Who This Course is For:

  • Business Professionals seeking a high-level overview of AI technology and use cases.

  • Professionals looking to integrate AI into their business strategies.

  • Anyone interested in understanding the core concepts and terminology of AI technologies.

What You Will Learn:

  • The History and Evolving State of AI: Trace the development of AI and its growing role in business.

  • Key Concepts and Terminology: Master the fundamental terms and ideas in AI.

  • AI Capabilities and Maturity: Discover current AI technologies, their readiness for business, practical use cases and limitations.

  • Effective Communication with Technical Teams: Learn the right questions to ask when discussing AI solutions with technical teams and partners.

  • Next Steps in Your AI Learning Journey: Helps you plan your next step in learning about AI

Course Structure:

This concise course is designed for flexibility, allowing you to explore specific topics based on your role and interests in business. Please note, this course does not dive deeply into specific AI tools or technologies. It is not a "ChatGPT in business" or "How to do deep learning" course, but a AI technology primer for business professionals. As with all our courses, we continuously add lessons and keep content current over time.

Learn from Experts, not Professional Course Creators:

This AI course is designed to cut through the hype and scepticism surrounding artificial intelligence and Generative AI. Learn from experienced business leaders, consultants, and executives who have over 40 years of combined experience in digital transformation and technology. Our experts have worked with large blue-chip organisations, start-ups, and SMEs across the Gain real-world knowledge to effectively leverage AI in your business.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Learn generative ai technology basics in a business context
  • An understanding of common ai terms that business professionals should know
  • Understand the key use cases for generative ai
  • Learn the key ai technology concepts for text, speech, image and video based gen ai
  • What questions to ask when evaluating ai solutions
  • Understand limitations of the technology

Syllabus

Introduction

This lesson walks through the evolution of AI in business, starting from the 1950s through to the present day, giving business professionals a grounding in how AI has developed and covering previous AI hype cycles, thought leadership and key historic moments.

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In this lesson we cover off the different terminology used in AI, different types of AI, and how they all relate to each other.

In this lesson, we explore the transformative power of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs) in AI, highlighting their applications in text understanding, text generation, and more. We explore  the capabilities of LLMs like GPT-4, BERT, and LLAMA. The lesson also discusses Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and developing custom LLMs to meet specific business needs, emphasizing the strategic importance of adopting AI for competitive advantage.

In this lesson we'll explore the powerful graphical and image-based capabilities that AI offers. We delve into key areas such as image recognition and classification, image generation and enhancement, and image analysis. Discover how AI can identify objects and scenes, generate and improve images, and extract valuable information from visual data. You'll learn about the benefits, limitations, and practical applications across various industries, from healthcare and retail to marketing and manufacturing.

In this lesson we go through the different terminology, capabilities and use cases of AI related to Speech, including speech analysis, text to speech, speech to text and natural language processing. We cover off some of the pitfalls in this area and key vendors that you can use to develop capabilities.

In this lesson we'll explore the world of AI-powered video technology. Learn how Video AI can analyze, interpret, enhance, and generate video content, revolutionizing various industries from surveillance and security to media and entertainment. Discover key capabilities like video content analysis, facial recognition, emotion detection, and video generation. Understand their applications and limitations to harness these technologies effectively.

This lesson covers the key aspects to consider when evaluating AI capability to solve business problems. We guide you through essential questions to answer before implementing AI, applicable to any AI type. We cover critical factors such as setting measurable goals, determining the required level of AI customisation, evaluating data quality and accessibility, and assessing the maturity of AI capabilities. This lesson aims to help you navigate the complexities of AI opportunity assessment.

Bonus Lecture: Where to take your learning next

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Tailored for beginners, this course is appropriate for business professionals starting from scratch who want to learn about AI
Appropriate for anyone learning about AI, regardless of job title or experience
Real-world knowledge is gained to effectively leverage AI and Generative AI
Taught by three instructors with a background in digital transformation and technology
Teaches foundational terminologies and concepts in AI

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in AI for Beginners with these activities:
Review AI Concepts
Refresh your foundation in AI concepts to enhance your comprehension of the course materials.
Browse courses on AI
Show steps
  • Revisit foundational AI terminologies and principles.
  • Review different types of AI algorithms and their applications.
Explore NLP Tools and Applications
Familiarize yourself with NLP tools and techniques to enhance your practical understanding of AI's language-processing capabilities.
Show steps
  • Follow tutorials on using popular NLP libraries.
  • Experiment with text classification, sentiment analysis, and other NLP tasks.
Discuss AI Use Cases and Challenges
Engage with fellow learners to exchange insights, share experiences, and collectively deepen your understanding of AI use cases and challenges.
Show steps
  • Participate in online or offline discussion forums with other students.
  • Organize study groups to explore specific AI topics.
Five other activities
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Show all eight activities
AI Resources Compilation
Create a comprehensive collection of AI-related resources, including articles, videos, datasets, and tools, for future reference and exploration.
Show steps
  • Gather and curate relevant AI resources from various sources.
  • Organize and categorize the resources for easy accessibility.
Practice AI Problem-Solving
Reinforce your problem-solving skills by practicing with AI-related exercises and challenges.
Browse courses on AI Algorithms
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  • Solve coding challenges related to AI concepts.
  • Participate in AI-focused coding competitions.
Design and Evaluate an AI-Powered Solution
Apply your understanding of AI to a real-world business scenario by designing and evaluating an AI solution.
Show steps
  • Identify a business problem that can be solved using AI.
  • Design an AI solution that addresses the identified problem.
  • Evaluate the performance and impact of your proposed solution.
Dive into AI Ethics
Gain a deeper understanding of the ethical implications of AI to make informed decisions in your future endeavors.
View AI Ethics on Amazon
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  • Read and analyze the assigned chapters on AI ethics.
  • Participate in class discussions on ethical considerations.
Attend AI Industry Meetups
Connect with professionals in the AI field, learn about industry trends, and explore potential career opportunities.
Show steps
  • Identify and attend local AI meetups and conferences.
  • Network with AI professionals and experts.

Career center

Learners who complete AI for Beginners will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

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