It feels like everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI), and these days you can’t have an online conversation without someone offering ChatGPT’s thoughts on the subject.
The use of AI, and particularly generative AI, is becoming more widespread in the philanthropic sector, but how can we keep up with new developments?
You may feel like AI isn't for you, but the truth is, not learning about AI and understanding the fundamentals of generative AI is like someone who said in the 1980s that they didn't care about computer stuff. We are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and AI is here to stay.
Foundations for AI Leaders and Senior Executives
AI for Everyone – DeepLearning.ai
Andrew Ng is a world leader in AI and has developed a learning platform to educate others, called DeepLearning.AI, with a course called AI for Everyone. This highly acclaimed course is 6 hours long and covers:
- What is AI?
- Building an AI project
- AI in your company
- AI and Society
This is the perfect course for leaders and senior executives who need to decide how and when to incorporate AI skills and projects into their philanthropic work.
Introduction to Generative AI – Coursera
Popular online learning provider Coursera has a wide range of courses on AI. Two of the most highly rated and ideal for charities are “AI for Business,” in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, and “Introduction to Generative AI,” in partnership with Google Cloud.
The AI for Business Specialization is a one-month, four-course package lasting approximately 10 hours per week. Course subjects include AI Fundamentals for Non-Data Scientists, Applications of AI in Marketing and Finance, Applications of AI in Human Resource Management, and AI Strategy and Governance.
This course can be a good opportunity for group learning to develop a common understanding of AI and its applications. Board members, senior managers, IT, marketing, finance and HR specialists can all take this course.
Generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, Bard, the new Bing, Dall-E, and Midjourney are already being used by charities. In this introduction to generative AI, you'll learn what generative AI is, what types of generative AI models are available, how generative AI works, and what generative AI applications are.
Most people in this field need to know what generative AI is and how to use it effectively while being mindful of the risks. This is a one-hour course, so it should be easy to fit into even the tightest of schedules.
AI learning is not a linear process: just when you think you've completed the first stage, a new learning item appears and you feel like you're back at square one.
Luckily, there are a lot of people who are enthusiastic about new developments in AI and have created a great overview in the AI Trends course on LinkedIn Learning. The best thing about this course is that it is delivered by multiple instructors and gets updated every time there is a major update. All you need to do is subscribe and follow the content.
Training and AI in the Philanthropic Sector
Finding eLearning specific to charities can be quite difficult, but below are some AI resources you may find useful.
NPC has a very interesting recorded discussion about AI in the philanthropic sector: Getting Beyond the Hype.
Charity Digital has an AI hub with articles, podcasts and webinars, such as How to get started with Web3 and AI.
The Charity Excellence Framework has lots of support and guidance to help you adopt AI in your charity – start with our step-by-step guide to using ChatGPT and AI tools.
Training to learn how to use AI in your daily work
If you're looking to understand the fundamentals (including risk) and leverage AI to save time on your daily tasks, then this course is for you.
● Increase productivity with AI – Google Digital Garage
● Microsoft Co-Pilot First Look – LinkedIn Learning
● ChatGPT Prompt Engineering – Coursera
● ChatGPT, Midjourney, Firefly, Bard, DALL-E, AI Crash Course – Udemy
The risks of training with AI
When your organization uses AI, it comes with responsibility for the risks that come with it. Large-scale language model AI applications such as ChatGPT, Bard, the new Bing, Midjourney, and Dall-E are known to incorporate bias from the datasets used to train them.
The more we introduce AI into our daily work, the more important it becomes to understand and mitigate these and other risks. The Algorithmic Justice League and the Ada Lovelace Institute are doing great work in this area, and their newsletters are great learning resources.
