University of Helsinki and Reaktor Education are launching a sequel to their free Elements of AI course with another free online AI Building course. The Finnish initiative aims to educate 1% of the world on the basics of AI and equip people with the skills needed to actually begin implementing AI in our everyday lives.
“Artificial intelligence appears in our lives, for example, as the recommendation algorithms of streaming services and facial recognition techniques. We wish to familiarize people with the tools used to create AI-based systems, engaging them in this societal transformation instead of people just adapting to the doings of a technological elite,”
– Professor of Computer Science Teemu Roos from the University of Helsinki, Lead Instructor for Building AI
Building AI is the sequel to Elements of AI, a hugely popular free introductory online course to artificial intelligence that, since its launch, has had more than half a million signups from over 170 countries. Elements of AI, rivaling similar massive open online courses by universities like Harvard and Stanford, won the grand prize in MIT’s Inclusive Innovation Challenge in 2019 and has been voted best AI course on Class Central.
The success of the initiative reflects the growing popularity of online learning and democratization of knowledge worldwide. University of Helsinki and Reaktor Education aim to educate at least 1% of the global population on the basics of artificial intelligence. The Elements of AI course is being translated into all the official EU languages and has already won the support of the Swedish and German governments. Finland, known for its world-class education and technology, has seen its education exports grow by 48% in the last five years.
The free online course will launch next week and more information on when the course will be live and an introduction to AI can be found here.
