Amazon, the US-based internet giant, has launched a new initiative called ‘AI Ready’ to provide free educational courses on generative AI, a cutting-edge technology that can create original content such as images, text, music, and code. The initiative aims to skill two million people in generative AI by 2025 and help them unlock new opportunities in the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence.
What is ‘AI Ready’ Initiative?
‘AI Ready’ is an initiative by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing arm of Amazon, to democratize access to generative AI education and empower learners of all backgrounds and skill levels to create with AI. The initiative offers eight free online courses on generative AI, covering topics such as computer vision, natural language processing, speech synthesis, and code generation. The courses are designed to be self-paced, interactive, and hands-on, with quizzes, exercises, and projects to reinforce learning.
Two Types of Courses Offered
The ‘AI Ready’ initiative offers two types of courses: one for business and non-technical users, and another for developers and technical users. The courses are as follows:
Courses for Business and Non-technical Users
- Introduction to Generative AI: This course provides an overview of what generative AI is, how it works, and what are its applications and use cases. It also introduces the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, a hub for generative AI research and development.
- Generative AI for Business: This course explores how generative AI can help businesses solve real-world problems and create value. It showcases examples of generative AI solutions across various industries and domains, such as e-commerce, media, healthcare, and education.
- Generative AI Ethics and Responsible Use: This course examines the ethical and social implications of generative AI, such as privacy, security, bias, and fairness. It also provides guidance on how to use generative AI responsibly and in alignment with AWS Responsible AI Principles.
Courses for Developers and Technical Users
- Introduction to CodeWhisperer: This course introduces CodeWhisperer, a generative AI service that can generate high-quality code from natural language descriptions. It also teaches how to use CodeWhisperer to create web and mobile applications, data pipelines, and machine learning models.
- Generative AI with Amazon Rekognition: This course teaches how to use Amazon Rekognition, a computer vision service that can analyze images and videos, to generate realistic and diverse faces, objects, and scenes.
- Generative AI with Amazon Polly: This course teaches how to use Amazon Polly, a speech synthesis service that can convert text into lifelike speech, to generate natural and expressive voices, accents, and languages.
- Generative AI with Amazon Lex: This course teaches how to use Amazon Lex, a natural language processing service that can build conversational interfaces, to generate engaging and personalized chatbots and virtual agents.
- Generative AI with Amazon Personalize: This course teaches how to use Amazon Personalize, a machine learning service that can provide personalized recommendations, to generate relevant and tailored content, products, and offers for users.
Benefits of AI Ready Courses
The ‘AI Ready’ initiative offers several benefits for learners who want to explore and master generative AI. Some of the benefits are:
- Opportunity for Career Growth in AI: By completing the ‘AI Ready’ courses, learners can gain valuable skills and knowledge that can help them advance their careers in the booming field of AI. According to a report by LinkedIn, AI specialist is one of the most in-demand and highest-paying jobs in 2020.
- Collaboration With Code.org for Hour of Code: As part of the ‘AI Ready’ initiative, AWS has partnered with Code.org, a non-profit organization that promotes computer science education, to offer a one-hour tutorial on generative AI for the Hour of Code, a global movement that reaches tens of millions of students in over 180 countries. The tutorial, called ‘Create with AI’, will teach students how to use CodeWhisperer to generate code from natural language and build their own apps.
- AWS Generative AI Scholarship for Students: AWS has also launched a scholarship program for students who want to pursue higher education in generative AI. The scholarship will provide financial support for tuition fees, books, and living expenses for selected students who enroll in generative AI courses or programs at accredited universities or colleges.
The ‘AI Ready’ initiative is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn about generative AI and unleash their creativity with AI. To enroll in the free courses, visit the AWS Educate site and start your generative AI journey today.
