Artificial Intelligence for Everyone. Popular Finnish AI Course to Be Available for Free30.12.2019

The authors of the Elements of AI course aim to provide a concise, approachable explanation of modern algorithms, and demonstrate the principles behind their design and application. Participants will also glimpse the potential of AI to reshape the job market and our everyday lives in the near future. 

Last year, the course proved immensely popular with the Finns, with around 1% of Finland’s 5.5M population signing up to take it. But as the Finnish presidency in the Council of the European Union began drawing to a close, it was decided that the course would be made available free of charge to all EU citizens (although the lack of any geolocalization restrictions means that it can be accessed by anyone). Currently, the course can be taken in English, Swedish, Estonian, Finnish, or German, but it is soon expected to be translated into all languages used in the EU. 

The course is designed to be taken over the course of six weeks. Going through each of the six sections is expected to take anywhere from five to ten hours. Participants are taught the difference between artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks, and instructed in potential applications of each of the three. Each section is capped off with homework assignments. 

"The Elements of AI" course has been created by Reaktor, a tech consultancy known for developing and implementing cutting-edge technological solutions. One of its branches is located at the University of Helsinki in Finland. 

Megan Schaible, one of the authors of the course, explained in an interview with The Verge that the primary objective of the course was “to prove that AI should not be left in the hands of a few elite coders.”