Lengthy earlier than ChatGPT blasted onto the scene and sucked all of the air out of the room, there was IBM Watson. Watson itself rose to fame when, in 2011, it beat reigning champion Ken Jennings on the TV sport present Jeopardy.
Enjoyable truth: ZDNET’s personal Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols was as soon as a clue on Jeopardy.
Anyway, again to our story. My level is that IBM has an extended historical past with AI and has not been sitting nonetheless. Its generative AI answer, Watsonx, focuses on enabling companies to deploy and handle each conventional machine studying and generative AI, tailor-made to their distinctive wants.
I am telling you this as a result of if any firm has the cred to supply a credential on AI fundamentals, it is IBM.
IBM’s AI Fundamentals program is accessible on its SkillsBuild studying portal. The credential takes about 10 hours to finish, throughout six programs.
As a result of I’ve lengthy had an curiosity in AI ethics (I did a thesis on AI ethics means again within the day), I took the AI ethics class. It was good.
It mentioned the problem of balancing know-how with moral accountability. Key matters included the 5 pillars of AI ethics, the significance of equity and avoiding bias, and the necessity for AI techniques to be clear, explainable, and sturdy in opposition to assaults. The session additionally emphasised governance, the safety of non-public information, and the importance of privateness via information minimization and differential privateness.
I subsequently took all of the programs within the credential program. To get began, create a free account on IBM’s SkillsBuild studying portal. All the next hyperlinks to IBM’s free AI programs require you to have created that account and be logged in earlier than you should use them.
Synthetic Intelligence Fundamentals Studying Plan: You may discover AI’s historical past, after which see the way it can change the world. Alongside the way in which, you may dive deep into ways in which AI makes predictions, understands language and pictures, and learns utilizing circuits impressed by the human mind. After a hands-on simulation by which you construct and take a look at a machine studying mannequin, you may end with recommendations on methods to discover your profession in AI.
Introduction to Synthetic Intelligence (1 hour and quarter-hour): Lower than a century previous, AI has already undergone three waves of transformative growth. Immediately it offers humanity essentially the most highly effective instruments for analyzing advanced information, not solely to seek out that means but additionally to be taught with out human intervention. On this course, you may survey AI’s historical past and discover ways in which it could actually make clear unstructured information.
Pure Language Processing and Laptop Imaginative and prescient (1 hour and half-hour): You would possibly already know that some AI techniques can perceive human language, establish visible pictures, and even create unique artwork. However have you learnt how these techniques do it? On this course, you may discover the speculation of pure language and imaginative and prescient processing and find out how these applied sciences drive real-world mechanisms comparable to chatbots and photograph evaluation.
Machine Studying and Deep Studying (2 hours): On this course, you may see how machines can be taught and make superb, evidence-based predictions. Discover the logic behind computer systems’ skill to be taught, then examine new ways in which AI techniques impressed by neurons within the human mind can resolve tough issues.
Run AI Fashions with IBM Watson Studio (1 hour and 45 minutes): On this course, you may apply making a machine studying mannequin in a sequence of simulations, utilizing IBM Watson Studio. That is hands-on time that may enable you to do precise work with AI.
AI Ethics (1 hour and 45 minutes): You may need heard about issues that come up when AI techniques misread information or suggest options that replicate human prejudice. That is the course I talked about above. By real-world examples, you may study AI ethics, how they’re carried out, and why AI ethics are so necessary in constructing reliable AI techniques.
Your Future in AI: The Job Panorama (1 hour): Are you contemplating a profession in AI? On this course, be taught in regards to the AI job market’s fast progress and the talents wanted for achievement on this thrilling area. You may hear how actual professionals bought their begin, and discover assets and studying alternatives that might enable you to work alongside them.
My expertise taking the complete course
The week between Christmas and New Yr’s Day is often pretty quiet, particularly in the case of the standard every day electronic mail visitors. Final yr, I used that point to take this course, doing one session most days, and circling again later within the day for a second session on two of the times.
Most classes are a mixture of studying, with a number of highlight movies thrown in. They finish with a quiz. Since you’ll be able to retake the quiz over and over till you get it proper, there is not any must worry take a look at taking. I bought a lot of the quizzes right on the primary strive, however when my little canine distracted me, I wound up retaking one — with no damaging influence on my coursework.
Every course dives into a side of AI and helps clarify it. Unquestionably, I’ve a greater really feel for a few of the generative AI processes than I did earlier than taking it. Extra to the purpose, the programs had been attention-grabbing and the video lectures participating. There have been additionally some interactive experiences within the course that I discovered compelling.
A lot of the programs are vendor-agnostic, however there was a Watson course that was particular to IBM’s choices. It did not take greater than an hour or so, and whereas I am not in IBM’s goal marketplace for their providing, it wasn’t a waste of time to be taught what IBM has for AI-related options.
As I mentioned earlier, I preferred the ethics part. When you’re fascinated by a job in AI, you may just like the final session, which is a full dive into what to anticipate if you wish to work on this area. It is well worth the value of admission (even when the admission wasn’t free) for that session alone.
I wound up with an official certificates, which I placed on my LinkedIn profile. Keep tuned, as a result of I will be exhibiting you methods to add a verifiable coaching certificates to LinkedIn throughout the subsequent week or so.
General, the course was an excellent expertise and I bought lots out of it.
Also, a number of of you requested about signing up for the course. There was some confusion as a result of you’ll be able to’t get to the course instantly. You’ll want to go to the primary IBM SkillBuild entry portal and create an account. After you have a verified account (it is free), then you will get into the programs IBM affords.
In truth, if you happen to go to this web page (you should be logged in), you may see a bunch of brief, lower than an hour, e-learning alternatives. They embrace:
- What’s synthetic intelligence?
- Introduction to Generative AI
- Mastering the Artwork of Prompting
- Enhance Your Resume Writing with Generative AI
- Synthetic Intelligence in Follow
Lastly, the IBM of us requested me to inform you additionally they supply a free Fundamentals of Sustainability and Know-how course. You could find it on SkillBuild as properly. That course additionally affords a verifiable credential.
Extra assets
That is the third article in our sequence of free studying assets for these fascinated by exploring AI or constructing a profession round this superb know-how. You’ll want to try The most effective free AI programs (and whether or not AI ‘micro-degrees’ and certificates are value it) for the opposite free programs we have explored.
So, there you go. Join now and use your spare time to get a brand new credential. When you take any of those programs, please report again within the feedback under and tell us what you assume.
You may comply with my day-to-day challenge updates on social media. You’ll want to subscribe to my weekly replace publication on Substack, and comply with me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Fb at Fb.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
