7 Free(ish) Online Resources That Will Help You Understand AI Better

Artificial Intelligence (AI) used to be just a Sci-Fi concept, something that only existed in movies, books, and pop culture. But as technology developed and human capacity evolved with it, we have been able to design artificially intelligent machines, machines that mirror human behaviour and learn new concepts just the way we can.

For many people, artificial intelligence is still an alien, abstract idea. They do not understand how it works or why it is important. For others, it piques their curiosity, but they just have not found the right materials that will acquaint them with the subject.

To help solve these problems, I have compiled a list of seven free resources that will help you (and anyone else who’s interested) understand Artificial Intelligence better.

These resources are curated from the top universities and companies around the world doing remarkable things with in the field. The materials range from simple, easy-to-consume guides to more intricate courses. All of which are online and you can learn at you own pace.

Here you go. Thank me later.

A Beginner’s Guide to AI/ML by Vishal Maini
This Medium post is a resource that provides a roadmap for both technical and non-technical people who want to better understand Machine Learning. It covers basic concepts in probability, statistics, programming, linear algebra, and calculus.

The post is written by Vishal Maini, a research content manager at DeepMind, former head of growth at Upstart and an alumnus of Yale University. He is someone who isn’t just knowledgeable about the topic, but has also worked in the space for years and knows the in-and-outs.

Google Machine Learning resources
“Whether you’re just learning to code or you’re a seasoned machine learning practitioner, you’ll find information and exercises to help you develop your skills and advance your projects” — This is how Google sells this course. Through the program, you will learn from machine learning experts at Google, the people who have built some of the most mind-blowing artificially intelligent features.

Google lets you filter down the resources available to on this platform, whether you’re a business decision maker, just a curious person, a data scientist, a researcher, a software engineer, or a student. The program includes courses, tutorials, videos, documents, etc.

Artificial Intelligence by Columbia University
This Artificial Intelligence course designed by Columbia University is aimed at improving your practical knowledge of the subject. The course seeks to answer the question: How can I apply Artificial Intelligence to everyday life?

Apart from introducing you to basic AI concepts, the course will take you through the history of AI and give you a broad understanding of the basic techniques for building intelligent computer systems and an understanding of how AI is applied to problems.

Machine Learning Fundamentals by UC San Diego
This course designed by the University of California, San Diego helps you understand the role machine learning plays role in data-driven modelling, prediction, and decision-making. It arms you with the knowledge of different types of data analysis.

It uses real-world case studies to teach you how to classify images, identify salient topics in a mass of documents, partition people according to their personality profiles, and automatically capture the semantic structure of words and use it to categorize documents.

Automation Academy by WorkFusion
Automation is a crucial part of AI, especially for business people and developers. AI-based automation makes use of neural networks and machine learning and allows your computer run processes automatically.

WorkFusion’s Automation Academy courses are designed for different kinds of users, depending on your skills and needs. If you’re a business person looking to widen your knowledge of automation, WorkFusion offers courses such as Automation Essentials, RPA Express, and courses for Machine Learning data analysts. There are also courses for developers who want to learn how to build robotic capabilities to automate processes.

Machine Learning by Stanford University
This Machine Learning course takes you deeper into the world of AI. It is taught by Andrew Ng, Co-founder, Coursera, Adjunct Professor at Stanford University and former head of Baidu AI Group/Google Brain.

It introduces you to the idea of teaching a computer how to learn concepts, then it dives deeper into Linear Regression, Logistic Regression, and Neural Networks.

Applied AI with DeepLearning by IBM
This is a 4-week course that takes you into the deep end of Artificial Intelligence. It is part of the IBM Advanced Data Science Certificate. To take this course, because of its advanced nature, you will require some coding skills, especially python, but other languages are acceptable too.

Although artificial intelligence is a new concept, you do not have feel overwhelmed by the subject. Using the resources above and others you can find with a simple Google search.

We are just in the beginning of our this revolution changing the way we live, work, communicate and do most things.

The journey to understanding artificial intelligence in its entirety is long, but taking the first step will get you there, make you more valuable in the job market or put your company ahead of the competition. looking at all these resources, you quickly find that it is an exciting trip to take.

Originally published at kelechiudoagwu.com on May 20, 2018.
Photo by Matan Segev from Pexels.