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Building AI assistants and AI agents is extremely popular among developers right now. No matter what field you work in – data analysis, machine learning, DevOps, etc. – AI can always be used to improve your workflow. So where do you start?
You can jump right in and start building AI applications and learn along the way. But it's equally important to learn the fundamentals of AI. That's why we've compiled a list of free college courses to help you learn the basics of AI.
So let's take a look at these courses.
1. CS50 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python – Harvard
Harvard University's CS50 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python is a great first course that helps build the foundations of artificial intelligence algorithms.
To take this course (and subsequent courses), you should be comfortable programming in Python. In this course, you will learn search algorithms, machine learning, large-scale language models, and more. The course is about 7 weeks long, and you will have the opportunity to work on a project for each module.
Here is an overview of the topics covered in this course:
- Graph Search Algorithms
- detailed search
- Knowledge Representation
- Logical reasoning
- Bayesian Networks
- Markov Model
- Machine Learning
- neural network
- Natural Language Processing
Link: CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python
2. Artificial Intelligence – MIT
MIT's Artificial Intelligence (6.034) is an undergraduate-level AI course that teaches you the fundamentals needed to build intelligent systems.
The focus is on:
- Knowledge Representation
- problem solving
- How AI Learns
MIT OpenCourseWare provides free access to all course content. This course covers the following topics:
- inference
- search
- Constraints
- Learning Algorithm
- Deep Neural Networks
- Probabilistic reasoning
Link: artificial intelligence
3. Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Techniques – Stanford University
Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Techniques (CS221) is a comprehensive course that provides an overview of the current state of AI. Learn about machine learning, search, gameplay, and more.
Topics covered in this course include:
- Machine Learning
- Search Algorithm
- Markov Decision Processes
- Play the game
- Factor Graph
- Bayesian Networks
- logic
- Deep Learning
Link: Stanford CS221: Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Techniques
4. AI in Healthcare Specialization – Stanford University
Healthcare is one of the key sectors that can benefit from the application of AI. From efficient prognosis and diagnosis to improving access to healthcare, AI applications with AI safety and ethics can be extremely helpful.
If you want to learn about AI applications in healthcare, check out the AI in Healthcare Specialization from Stanford University on Coursera. This specialization includes the following courses and a capstone project:
- Introduction to Healthcare
- Introduction to Clinical Data
- Machine Learning Fundamentals for Healthcare
- Evaluating AI Applications in Healthcare
Link: Specialty areas of AI in healthcare
5. Introduction to Generative AI – Duke University
Generative AI has become extremely popular due to recent advancements and ongoing research in the field, and using large language models to build useful applications is what developers are enjoying most right now.
Introduction to Generative AI, from Duke University on Coursera, introduces the field of generative AI, how to use open and closed source large-scale language models, cloud APIs, and more. Modules in this course include:
- Introduction to Generative AI
- Interacting with the model
- Building Robust Generative AI Systems
- Applications of LLM
Link: Introduction to Generative AI
summary
We hope you found this roundup of free AI courses useful. For courses offered on platforms like Coursera or edX, you can sign up for a free account to audit the course and access the course content for free.
If you're interested in learning the basics of machine learning, check out 5 Free College Courses to Learn Machine Learning.
Bala Priya C Bala is a Developer and Technical Writer from India. He loves working at the intersection of Mathematics, Programming, Data Science, and Content Creation. His areas of interest and expertise are DevOps, Data Science, and Natural Language Processing. He loves reading, writing, coding, and coffee. He is currently committed to acquiring and sharing knowledge among the developer community by writing tutorials, how-to guides, opinion pieces, and more. Bala also creates engaging resource compendiums and coding tutorials.
