Top 5 Free AI Courses

By restructuring companies and creating new career opportunities, artificial intelligence (AI) has done its part to cement its role in work environments. For employees and employers alike, who are eager to enter the world of AI but are unsure where to start, a range of high-quality, free online courses makes this field accessible to everyone. These courses cover foundational concepts, real-world use cases, and practical skills that make it easy for learners to begin or enhance their understanding of AI and its potential.

Here are the top five free AI courses that provide a solid starting point for both beginners and experienced professionals.

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence – LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn offers a comprehensive selection of courses covering artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in their online learning platform LinkedIn Learning. Overall, you can choose from over 800 different courses to deepen your AI knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, the platform only offers a free 30-day trial and then charges a monthly fee.  

One of the most popular courses on the platform, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, provides a solid overview of AI concepts, algorithms, and techniques used in machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning. The course is divided into chapters, each concluding with a quiz to revise the learned material. After completing the course, you can take a final exam and earn a certificate that can then be added to your LinkedIn account.

• Duration: 1 hour 34 minutes

• Key Topics: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, algorithms, artificial neural networks

• Best For: Beginners, project managers, executives, and students starting a career in AI.

Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals – IBM SkillsBuild

Similarly, IBM offers a learning platform, SkillsBuild, where you can find courses and resources focused on essential workplace skills geared towards students, adult learners, and educators. To access these courses, you only need to create a free account on the learning platform.

Among these, you can find the Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals credential. With six courses, the credential guides the learner through the foundational concepts of AI, ethical considerations in AI, and concrete applications of AI. Completing the courses also gives you the opportunity of gaining a badge you can add to LinkedIn.

• Duration: 10+ hours

• Key Topics: AI, ML, natural language processing, neural networks, ethical AI, IBM Watson Studio, AI job outlook

• Best For: High school and college students, adult learners, educators

Introduction to Machine Learning – AWS Skill Builder

Amazon also provides a library of courses and training material to cultivate cloud skills in their online learning center AWS Skill Builder. While the platform offers monthly, annual, and team subscriptions, it also includes access to over 600 free courses and learning plans. One standout offering is the Introduction to Machine Learning: Art of the Possible course.

This course is designed to teach learners the fundamentals of machine learning, as well as the benefits and risks associated with it. Through four modules that include presentations, videos, and assessments, it defines AI and ML, explains how they work, and examines potential problems of implementing ML across various business cases.

• Duration: 30 minutes

• Key Topics: AI, ML, potential of ML, simple and complex models, problems with ML models

• Best For: Nontechnical business leaders and decision makers involved in ML projects

AI for Everyone – DeepLearning.AI

DeepLearning.AI offers multiple free courses that guide beginners and intermediate learners through various fields of AI, ML, LLMs (language learning models), and more. In addition to its core offerings, the platform also collaborates with tech leaders like AWS, OpenAI, Google, and Meta, among others.

The introductory course AI for Everyone offers an understanding of AI technologies and sustainable AI strategies. Over the course of four weeks, you learn the fundamentals of AI in the context of projects and society, as well as real-world applications in the form of case studies.

• Duration: 6 hours

• Key Topics: AI, ML, AI terminology, building AI projects, AI case studies, discrimination & bias in AI, AI job landscape

• Best For: Nontechnical business professionals, managers, CEOs

Introduction to Generative AI – Google Cloud

Finally, Google Cloud also offers its own introductory level learning path about generative AI. The path consists of five different courses that cover the topics generative AI, LLMs, responsible AI and Google’s Vertex AI.

The first course, Introduction to Generative AI, comprises one video, one document, and one quiz. It aims at teaching the basics of generative AI, its application possibilities, its specialities, as well as Google Tools that assist in developing Gen AI apps in an easy-to-learn, concise way. At the end of the course – similar to the aforementioned courses – participants can earn a completion badge to showcase their new skills.

• Duration: 45 minutes

• Key Topics: AI, ML, generative AI, Gen AI app development, Google tools

• Best For: Beginners aiming to enhance their professional skill set

Building AI Skills with Online Courses

As AI continues to evolve and impact more and more job sectors, understanding its principles and applications can prove to be an advantage or even essential for professionals in various fields. The above-mentioned five free courses by LinkedIn, IBM, AWS, DeepLearning.AI, and Google offer a diverse array of learning paths, from foundational knowledge to hands-on practice with AI tools.  

They provide accessible, comprehensive resources that allow anyone from beginners to advanced learners deepen their AI understanding and build valuable skills for the future.

Want to learn more about how AI can be concretely implemented in your company? Contact us anytime for a free consultation!