AI for Beginners review
Microsoft · microsoft
A 24-lesson open curriculum on GitHub covering classic AI, ML and a little deep learning.
What does it take?
| Difficulty | 2 out of 5 |
|---|---|
| Hours | Not checked yet |
| Format | Reading, Code notebooks |
| Maths needed | School-level maths |
| Coding needed | Yes, you will write code |
| Hardware needed | Not checked yet |
| Certificate | No certificate |
| Free to audit | Yes |
| Pace | Self-paced |
| Last updated by the provider | Not checked yet |
Who should take it, and who should skip it?
Take it if you are
- Developers who prefer reading and notebooks to video lectures
Skip it if you are
- Anyone who wants polished production video
What will you be able to do after it?
- Cover the breadth of classic AI and ML topics
- Complete notebook exercises with quizzes after each lesson
What's in each module?
| Module | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Introduction to AI | History and definitions. |
| Symbolic AI | Knowledge representation, pre-ML approaches. |
| Neural networks | A first hands-on pass. |
| Convolutional networks | Basics of computer vision. |
| NLP basics | Working with text. |
What we liked, and what we didn't
What we liked
- Broad syllabus for zero cost
- Open source, so you can see exactly what's inside
What we didn't
- Presentation is plainer than a paid platform
- Depth varies lesson to lesson
What should you take after it?
- Machine Learning Crash Course
Google's Machine Learning Crash Course has 12 modules and takes about 13.5 hours by Google's own timings. It is free, with quiz badges and no certificate.
- Hugging Face LLM Course
Hugging Face LLM Course has 12 chapters of 6 to 8 hours each, costs nothing and has no certificate. You learn LLMs with the Transformers library.
How we rated it: 7.6 out of 10
| Criterion | Score out of 10 |
|---|---|
| Clarity | 7 |
| Hands-on practice | 7 |
| Up to date | 6 |
| Depth | 7 |
| Truly free | 10 |
So should you take it?
The best free course if you like working through a structured GitHub repo with quizzes rather than a slick video platform.
Where to go next
- Microsoft Learn: our platform review
What else it offers, and what costs money.
- Elements of AI
The gentlest way in: a University of Helsinki course with no code and no maths beyond school level. It takes about 24 to 48 hours and the certificate is free.
- AI For Everyone
Andrew Ng's non-technical primer on what AI is good for and how to plan around it at work. It takes 7 hours on Coursera, and the certificate is paid.
- Generative AI for Everyone
What large language models can actually do for you and your team, without writing a line of code. Andrew Ng teaches it in 6 hours on Coursera, certificate paid.
Last checked .
Not sure this is the one?
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