Amazon Launches "AI Ready" Program to Train Millions of Workers in AI Skills
Amazon's Leap into AI Education: A Strategic Move
Amazon's recent launch of the "AI Ready" program is a pivotal moment in tech education. Aimed at equipping 2 MILLION individuals globally with AI skills by 2025, this initiative responds to the acute shortage of AI talent in the industry. It's not just about filling jobs; it's about transforming how we approach technology and its applications in various fields, including marketing.
Broadening Horizons with Comprehensive Initiatives
The "AI Ready" program is a multifaceted approach to AI education:
Free AI and Generative AI Courses: Offering eight new courses (see below), Amazon makes learning accessible to a broad audience, ensuring that anyone interested, regardless of their background, can dive into the world of AI.
AWS Generative AI Scholarship: This scholarship program targets over 50,000 high school and university students, especially from underserved and underrepresented communities, providing them with access to specialized generative AI courses on platforms like Udacity.
Partnership with Code.org: In a creative twist, Amazon collaborates with Code.org to introduce students to AI through the "Hour of Code Dance Party: AI Edition". This initiative not only educates but also engages young minds in AI through interactive and fun activities.
Tailored Learning for Diverse Audiences
Amazon's courses cater to a wide range of learners:
Business and Non-Technical Courses: These include an introduction to generative AI and courses designed for decision-makers, offering insights into planning AI projects and building AI-ready organizations.
Technical and Developer-Focused Learning: In addition to the business-oriented courses, there are offerings that delve deeper into the technical aspects of AI, meeting the needs of a more technologically inclined audience.
Courses for business and nontechnical audiences
Introduction to Generative Artificial Intelligence provides an introduction to generative AI, its applications, and need-to-know concepts, like foundation models.
Generative AI Learning Plan for Decision Makers is a three-course series covering how to plan a generative AI project and build a generative AI–ready organization.
Introduction to Amazon CodeWhisperer teaches participants how to use Amazon’s AI code generator, which produces whole lines of code.
*All of these courses can be found on AWS Skill Builder or AWS Educate.
Courses for developer and technical audiences
Foundations of Prompt Engineering introduces the basics of prompt engineering, the practice of designing inputs for generative AI tools, all the way through to advanced prompt techniques.
Low-Code Machine Learning on AWS explores how to prepare data, train machine learning models, and deploy machine learning models, with minimal coding and without deep knowledge of machine learning.
Building Language Models on AWS covers how to use Amazon SageMaker distributed training libraries to build language models and how to fine-tune open source models and foundation models.
Amazon Transcribe—Getting Started explores how to use Amazon Transcribe, a fully managed AI service that converts speech to text using automatic speech recognition technology.
Building Generative AI Applications Using Amazon Bedrock teaches how to use Amazon Bedrock to build generative AI applications.
*All of these courses can be found on AWS Skill Builder.
The Marketing Perspective: Staying Ahead in the AI Race
For marketing professionals, the "AI Ready" program is a golden opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and gain a competitive advantage. Understanding and leveraging AI, especially generative AI, is crucial in today’s fast-evolving marketing landscape. This program is a chance for marketers to enhance their skills and prepare for an AI-driven future.
Embracing the AI Revolution
Amazon’s "AI Ready" initiative is a significant step towards bridging the AI talent gap. By offering free courses, scholarships, and engaging educational initiatives, Amazon is democratizing AI education. For business owners and marketing professionals, participating in this program is not just about learning a new skill; it’s about being at the forefront of the AI revolution and shaping the future of marketing.
— Harrison Painter, Your Chief Ai Officer
Source: Amazon