5 AI Courses for Free with Certifications in 2024

Artificial Intelligence is Changing our World

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a concept of the distant future - it's impacting our lives every single day. From the smart assistants in our pockets to the algorithms that power recommendation engines and online ads, AI is quietly but profoundly transforming how we live and work.

Many experts predict that AI will only accelerate its disruption over the coming years. By 2024, generative AI alone could boost economic growth by over 4% according to PWC. Industries from healthcare to transportation to education face massive changes as AI innovations take hold.

This transformation creates both risks and opportunities. On one hand, many existing jobs could be automated, displacing human workers. However, AI is also creating entirely new job categories and functions that never existed before. It's estimated that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven't even been invented yet!

For professionals looking to future-proof their careers and stay relevant in this AI-driven world, gaining skills in artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important. The good news is that through online courses, everyone has access to high-quality AI education - even if you've got no technical background.

In this article, we'll explore the top 5 free online AI courses that also offer certifications in 2024. Completing any of these programs is an excellent first step to help you understand AI's impact, identify new career paths, and gain credentials that can make your resume stand out from the crowd.

Google AI Essentials

The Most Popular AI Course on Coursera

Sponsored by tech giant Google and offered through online learning platform Coursera, Google AI Essentials has surpassed 360,000 enrollments, making it truly one of the most in-demand courses available.

Taught by Google's own AI experts, it's perfect for complete beginners wanting to gain foundational knowledge. Over the course of 6 weeks, topics include:

An introduction to artificial intelligence concepts and techniques
How AI algorithms work
AI applications and use cases
Bias and fairness in AI
Technologies like TensorFlow and machine learning platforms

Students get hands-on experience applying what they learn through programming exercises. Those who complete all lessons and assignments receive a certificate recognized by employers worldwide.

With its focus on practical skills and career relevance, it's easy to see Google AI Essentials' enduring popularity. The course is completely free and self-paced, allowing you to dive in at your convenience. Future-proofing your career has never been more accessible.

Generative AI with Large Language Models

Mastering Powerful AI Through Hands-On Practice

While general AI skills are important, some jobs will demand highly specialized expertise. Generative AI with Large Language Models, delivered in partnership with Amazon Web Services, dives deep into one of the most promising and profitable new AI subfields.

Over 6 weeks, students learn how to fine-tune massive pre-trained models like GPT-3 to perform tasks like summarization, translation, question-answering and more. The course also covers model evaluation, liability and safety techniques.

What truly sets this program apart is its hands-on labs and projects. Learners get direct access to AWS servers to experiment with state-of-the-art generative AI APIs, prototyping their own applications. This bridges the gap between theory and real-world job skills.

Upon completion, students emerge with both a solid conceptual understanding and the practical experience that could lead straight into generative AI roles. As natural language processing revolutionizes industries, the career opportunities for grads of this course will be plentiful and high-paying.

Prompt Engineering For ChatGPT

Mastering Conversational AI Through Prompt Design

While general purpose AI models bring excitement, their open-domain capabilities present challenges. Proper guidance is required to ensure helpful, harmless and honest responses. Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT teaches expert-level skills for steering conversational AI.

Developed and delivered through Vanderbilt University, the course uses their popular Constitutional AI model (based on GPT-3) as a case study. Over 5 weeks, key lessons include:

Understanding Constitutional AI techniques like self-supervision and gradient clipping
Analyzing real examples of poor prompts vs. considerate ones
Designing prompts for specific use cases like customer support or education
Evaluating and refining prompts through iterative testing

Students also get hands-on practice crafting their own prompts and seeing how the model responds. This deepens comprehension in a memorable way.

Mastering prompt design opens doors in high-impact roles at AI safety companies or any organization leveraging conversational systems at scale. It's a unique and in-demand expertise for those pursuing leadership in the responsible AI movement.

Introduction to Generative AI

Laying the Foundation for Your AI Career

Before diving into specialized courses, having a solid general introduction to AI concepts provides important context. Introduction to Generative AI from Google Cloud is perfect for beginners.

This 1-hour intro module kicks off a full learning path. Key lessons cover:

Understanding what generative AI is and how it differs from other types
Examples of generative models like text, image and audio generators
Common applications and potential societal impacts
Getting started with basic generative AI tools and workflows

While brief, the course efficiently lays the essential groundwork. Students emerge with a firm grasp on AI terminology, categories and trends to build on through follow-up courses.

Taught by Google experts, its pedagogical approach ensures even newcomers feel oriented and motivated to continue exploring. Introduction to Generative AI establishes the foundation for lifelong AI learning and career growth.

Generative AI for Everyone

A Complete Foundation from an Industry Leader

Closing out our lineup is Generative AI For Everyone from DeepLearning.AI, co-founded by renown AI scientist Andrew Ng.

Through 5 hours of self-paced video lectures, readings and quizzes, this course packs a comprehensive introduction to AI fundamentals. Key topics covered include:

Understanding AI projects and their lifecycles
Overview of generative modeling techniques
Applications of language, image and audio generation
Software tools, workflows and best practices
Risks, regulation, bias and ensuring AI is developed responsibly

Taught by Ng himself, lessons are engaging, insightful and applicable whether pursuing academic research or a corporate career. The course also emphasizes using new AI knowledge to empower and unite humanity.

For all skill levels, Generative AI For Everyone provides the complete well-rounded education needed to progress confidently in the field or have informed discussions about its role in society. Its prestigious origin and thoughtful perspective make it as attractive to employers as curious citizens wanting to understand the foundations of our AI future.

In-Demand Skills for an AI-Powered Future

With five diverse yet complementary programs surveyed, hope exists for everyone to gain access to high-quality AI training, regardless of background or budgets. Successful completion empowers students with in-demand job skills like:

AI Fundamentals & Concepts - Understand core algorithms, terminologies, use cases, impact and more.
Generative AI Modeling - Hands-on experience fine-tuning powerful generative models for tasks like text generation, translation, summarization and more.
Conversational AI Prompt Design - Master the expert-level skill of crafting prompts that steer dialog models to be helpful, harmless and honest.
AI Project Management - Gain exposure to real-world AI development best practices, tooling, workflows and stakeholder considerations.
AI Safety & Regulation - Learn proactive techniques for ensuring AI is developed and applied responsibly with considerations for bias, privacy and more.

Armed with credentials from top-ranked programs, job/career switchers and students have strong foundations to tap plentiful roles in software engineering, data science, product management, strategy and more at companies across every industry. With AI poised to deliver untold possibilities, there has never been a more promising time to invest in your future through free online learning.