Best Online AI Certification and Courses to Master AI Technology in 2024

Author(s): Jennifer Wales

Originally published on Towards AI.

The year 2024 comes with a great opportunity for professionals who have mastered AI skills. Have you? Well, here are the best online AI courses to learn AI in 2024

There’s no denying that artificial intelligence technology is revolutionizing every field of work. Whether you are a technical geek, a non-technical enthusiast, or an entrepreneur, you cannot ignore the importance of AI skills in your day-to-day work life. Doing so may cause you to fall behind your competitors and push you a lot backward.

According to McKinsey and Company, 87% of companies worldwide are aware of a current or future skills gap related to AI. Also, a study from Salesforce reported the global AI talent shortage could lead to a cumulative GDP loss of $11.5 trillion in 14 G20 countries. It may be surprising to note that the US alone faces a potential $8.5 trillion loss by 2030 due to the AI skills gap as per PwC.

Therefore, it is an absolute need of the hour to learn AI skills to move forward in your career and grab the numerous opportunities about to come your way in 2024 and beyond. Here, we will talk about the best online AI courses to help you gain industry-relevant skills.

Why is it important to learn AI?

Well, AI is no longer limited to movies or fiction. Also, it is not only large-scale industries that use AI technology. AI has now penetrated every walk of life. Learning artificial intelligence technology has become important for everyone. Let’s explore why.

For Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

Whether you are the decision maker of an organization, or you are a business owner looking to leverage the power of AI and boost business growth, this technology can aid in maximizing your effort and reducing your costs.

Be it managing projects and clients or streamlining various business operations, AI technology can assist you in all your tasks, saving lots of time and effort. It also helps in risk management as AI-powered analytics can assess and mitigate risks in real-time.

For technical professionals

AI tools and technologies have proven to be highly beneficial to technical and AI professionals as well. Understanding AI algorithms can help developers working on projects related to AI systems. Technical professionals are required not only to write and run codes but also to use them properly, and this is probably why industries like finance and healthcare are hiring more and more AI engineers and ML engineers.

For non-technical professionals

For non-technical professionals, AI technology is no less than a boon. Now, several AI tools are available that can make their work effortless and help them finish in a very short time. For example, an HR manager can shortlist the best-matching candidates in just one click. Writers can generate a copy of content with just one prompt, and so on. The applications of AI tools and technology for non-technical professionals are endless.

Top online AI certifications and courses to boost your career

Now that you understand why learning AI is important let us dive into the world of the best AI certifications and courses.

For Beginners

1. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Stanford University

Available in Udacity, this course is offered by Stanford University and is an excellent course to introduce beginners to artificial intelligence technology. It is a 16-week course and requires at least 6 hours a week to learn and earn the certification. In this course, you will learn about the fundamentals of AI, such as machine learning, probabilistic reasoning, advanced planning, etc., along with applications of AI in robotics, computer vision, NLP, and other areas of technology.

2. Certified Artificial Intelligence Engineer (CAIE™): USAII®

The United States Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII®) offers this beginner-level artificial intelligence certification program. The course is designed to help students and young professionals with less than 2 years of work experience, who want to start their AI career. This course from USAII covers the basic concepts of Artificial Intelligence technology and validates their expertise in the foundational AI course.

USAII® offers advanced-level AI certifications, too, which we will discuss ahead. And all these certifications from USAII® come with highly exciting features like:

● All programs are online self-paced learning programs and can be completed within 4–25 weeks, requiring a time commitment of 8–10 hours a week

● Offers a world-class resource center consisting of ebooks, HQ lecture videos, use cases, real-world practice codes, etc., to prepare for the certification exam

● Students and professionals can enroll for their preferred course by paying with different options. They can pay in full, or in three interest-free installments, or even pay later using Klarna

● They have excellent recertification and renewal programs where you can maintain your certification economically.

● Earn a digital sharable badge to highlight your AI skills and expertise in different professional platforms

All these features are offered in all of USAII’s programs.

3. AI for Everyone: DeepLearning.AI

This course is available on Coursera and was designed by renowned AI expert Andrew Ng. It is considered to be an ideal course for non-technical professionals who want to understand the basics of Artificial Intelligence. Learners can understand how AI is impacting business and society in this course. It gives a broad introduction to AI, including AI’s applications, what is involved in building an AI project, and the current ethical and social discourse related to AI.

Best AI courses for Business

These courses will help entrepreneurs and business leaders learn about how to leverage AI technology and boost their businesses.

4. Artificial Intelligence for Business: Udemy

This AI course covers important topics that will help business leaders and entrepreneurs understand different concepts of AI and how they can use it to improve their business. The course requires a basic understanding of high school math and Python programming. It is divided into three parts, covering different business applications of AI with specific case studies. The modules include “Optimizing Business Processes” using reinforcement learning in an e-commerce warehouse, “Minimizing Costs” focusing on AI for reducing energy consumption in data centers, and “Maximizing Revenues” exploring strategies for increasing income in online retail.

5. Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS™): USAII®

The CAIS™ has been designed keeping in mind the decision-makers of the organizations who want to use the power of artificial intelligence in transforming their businesses. The course will help them effectively implement AI strategies within their organizations and streamline all business operations with the help of AI tools and technology.

Programming skills are not mandatory to apply for CAIS™ certification.

For technical experts

6. IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate

Offered via Coursera, this program from IBM helps AI professionals master the skills and tools required to build, deploy, and manage AI applications in the cloud. It is ideal for technical experts looking to advance in their AI careers and learn the latest AI tools and skills.

In this course, they can learn about Cloud foundations for AI, Building AI pipelines, Managing AI applications, Python for data science, Deep Learning with PyTorch, etc.

7. Certified Artificial Intelligence Consultant (CAIC™): USAII®

Another AI certification course from USAII® covers the important concepts to efficiently manage different kinds of AI projects within the organization. It has been designed for professionals having 4+ years of work experience in the STEM field, and proficiency in programming languages.

The course covers topics like the perspective of AI, various use cases, principles of reinforcement learning, machine learning for business functions, and much more.

Conclusion

The Artificial Intelligence industry is growing at a rapid pace, and there is a huge shortage of skilled and certified AI professionals. If you are looking for a stable career path offering huge career growth opportunities, then this is the field.

Consider getting certified with the best AI courses matching your career goals, and upgrade yourself with the latest AI knowledge.

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Published via Towards AI