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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- Google and Goodwill are offering a free intro to AI course.
- I took nan 6-hour course, and it's rather good.
- If you want to travel up to velocity connected AI, sign up here.
I deliberation we tin each work together that AI is here. It is becoming much and much embedded successful our integer world. It's besides becoming much and much basal for everyone successful nan workforce (or who wants to beryllium successful nan workforce) to person astatine slightest a passing knowing of nan basics of AI, and generative AI specifically.
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In this article, I'm going to show you astir an fantabulous free introductory AI people produced by Google and promoted by Goodwill Industries.
For arsenic agelong arsenic I tin remember, Goodwill has been nan spot I return my crap erstwhile I cleanable retired my closets, but arsenic I learned this week, they do a batch more.
As I was told by their representative:
We are known for being a thrift store. But we are besides nan largest nonprofit supplier of workforce improvement successful nan US. We thief much than 350 group find jobs each day.
In relation pinch Google.org, Google's philanthropic organization, Goodwill and Google are offering nan Google AI Essentials people for free to 200,000 aliases much people.
Taking nan people
The people is described arsenic a 6-to-7-hour course, and that's astir right. I watched a bunch of nan videos astatine 1.5× speed, truthful I sewage done nan full point successful astir 4 hours.
My top-line impressions are this: It's a very bully course. If you want to cognize nan basics of generative AI, this is an fantabulous measurement to get started.
It's balanced, successful that nan people covers nan problems and limits of AI, and Google moreover mentions competitory chatbots, Microsoft Copilot, and Anthropic Claude.
Obviously, nan Google execs featured successful nan people are excited by AI. Some of nan video did look a spot for illustration nan Vault-Tec promos from nan Fallout games aliases Walton Goggins' Cooper Howard characteristic from nan TV show. But nan Google presenters really do a awesome occupation of balancing their excitement pinch nan realities and limitations of AI.
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The online course, hosted by Coursera, consists of 5 modules.
- Introduction to AI: Discusses nan basics of AI, gives immoderate background, and introduces nan conception of generative AI on pinch its limitations.
- Maximize Productivity With AI Tools: Talks astir nan various devices utilized to activity pinch AI, ranging from chatbots, image generators, and a smattering of different resources.
- Discover nan Art of Prompting: Gives you hands-on acquisition penning prompts and learning really to maximize nan effectiveness of prompting. Even if you've utilized generative AI, location are immoderate tidbits you tin prime up here.
- Use AI Responsibly: Covers nan biases and passageway imagination that AI tin produce. You should watch this moreover if you deliberation you already cognize each astir bias, because AIs tin limit their responses successful unpredictable ways. This module shows you really to deliberation astir that.
- Stay Ahead of nan AI Curve: Part proposal to support studying, and portion transportation for Google's adjacent course, it's a bully wrap-up to nan wide course.
I liked really nan people presented galore foundational AI concepts intelligibly and effectively. I ne'er felt for illustration nan Google folks were talking down to beginners, yet nan accusation was each understandable.
There are besides 2 coaching interfaces. The first tin show up anytime you want while watching a video. I'll show you nan 2nd 1 a spot later.
I did person an unexpected fanboy infinitesimal astir halfway done nan course, erstwhile "Vint" showed up successful a training module.
Vint, for those who don't know, is Vinton Cerf, holder of nan National Medal of Technology, nan Turing Award, nan Presidential Medal of Freedom, nan Benjamin Franklin Medal, nan Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, and nan Marconi Prize. Oh, and dissimilar a erstwhile politician, Vint really did invent nan Internet. He's 1 of nan main designers of TCP/IP.
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The people besides had a number of interactive engagement devices. There were nan accustomed quizzes, which tin thief summation learning retention by reinforcing acquisition content.
There were besides AI-assisted activities wherever you had to nutrient a workable punctual according to guidelines. These were adjuvant and informative.
Good, cleanable AI nosy
My absolute favourite constituent of nan people was nan interactive chat sessions pinch Gemini. You had to successfully reply nan chatbot's questions to beryllium allowed to proceed nan course. But while nan quizzes were nan modular fill-in-the-blank aliases multiple-choice formats, these discussions were afloat interactive. It felt for illustration having a speech pinch a coach complete Slack.
They were fun. I went much than a small off-topic, spewing snarky responses astir various sci-fi AIs, to spot really nan coaching AI would respond. It very politely but firmly informed maine that I was referencing fictional AIs. It said we were talking astir existent AI, and nudged maine to please get backmost connected track.
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I've been utilizing a topic-limited AI helper successful immoderate of nan Harvard AI programming courses I'm taking arsenic portion of my ongoing continuing-education professional-development regimen. That AI allows you to inquire questions but will only reply pinch starring questions alternatively than supply afloat answers.
In this Goodwill/Google course, nan AI follows much of a guided-discovery pattern, asking you astir topics you should person conscionable learned about, and guiding you pinch your responses until you reply correctly. It was a awesome learning experience, and an fantabulous illustration of AI adding worth to an experience.
Each module ended pinch a coagulated recap of nan subjects discussed, and moved connected to nan adjacent topic.
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As you tin astir apt tell, I was very pleasantly impressed pinch this class. While astir readers of this article are apt to person astatine slightest immoderate AI experience, this people could beryllium a immense boon to nan AI-curious and newbies to nan AI world.
There's besides a certificate astatine nan extremity that you tin reference successful your resume.
Coursera will automatically adhd nan credential to your LinkedIn pinch a credential ID. It's ever bully to show employers and clients that you're superior astir continuing education.
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My proposal is to stock this people pinch group who mightiness use from learning astir AI. If you person anyone who tells you they request to study much astir AI, this is simply a safe, helpful, non-controversial, beautiful overmuch non-promotional, coagulated preamble that isn't afloat of fluff and padding.
Google should beryllium congratulated for producing a adjacent and unfastened preamble to AI without hype. Goodwill decidedly deserves kudos for providing their scope to those seeking activity aliases seeking to study much astir these seismic changes successful our moving world.
Also: Don't beryllium fooled into reasoning AI is coming for your occupation - here's nan truth
Once again, if you want to participate, each you request is an Internet relationship and a Google account. Point your browser here. Also, immoderate Goodwill locations supply entree to nan Internet for those who mightiness not person entree astatine home.
What astir you? Have you taken Google's AI Essentials people aliases different introductory AI class? Did you find it helpful, overwhelming, aliases conscionable right? How do you deliberation these kinds of courses tin support group entering aliases re-entering nan workforce? Do you cognize personification who could use from learning nan basics of AI successful a clear, accessible way? Let america cognize successful nan comments below.
You tin travel my day-to-day task updates connected societal media. Be judge to subscribe to my play update newsletter, and travel maine connected Twitter/X astatine @DavidGewirtz, connected Facebook astatine Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, connected Instagram astatine Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, connected Bluesky astatine @DavidGewirtz.com, and connected YouTube astatine YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
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