🍊The Juicer: How to Learn AI Skills Fast: 5 Easy Steps, 9 Best AI Courses in 2024, and Create Slides with Claude’s 3.5 Sonnet!

Hey friends! 👋🏻

Want to learn AI but don’t know where to start?

I wrote this issue to be a complete masterclass in learning AI.

⭐️ In fact, you’ll want to put a star on this email for reference.

I genuinely believe you’ll learn something new.

Let’s get started!

- Justin 🍊

Read time: 7 minutes

1. How to Learn AI Skills Fast: 5 Easy Steps 👨🏻‍🏫

Generative AI skills are in crazy demand.

In fact, its market size is set to hit $100B by 2030.

Wanna learn AI fast?

Here are 5 steps to get started.

1. Establish a Strong Foundation

Before diving into complex AI concepts, ensure you have a solid grasp of the basics:

- Mathematics: Focus on linear algebra, calculus, and probability. These form the backbone of many AI algorithms. It's time to brush up if you’re not clear on maths. If you’re just learning about generative AI and not finding a job, you won’t need much of this.

- Programming: Python is the go-to language for AI. If you're new to coding, start with a beginner's Python course. Plus, Python is a good all-rounded programming language for software development and data science.

- Data Structures and Algorithms: Understanding these will help you implement AI solutions efficiently. You’ll be able to understand how data is stored and handled.

- Prompt Engineering: To interface well and get good results from Large Language Models (LLMs), you’ll need to learn how to prompt properly. Read all my guides on prompt engineering.

Don't let these prerequisites overwhelm you.

Many online resources offer crash courses in these subjects tailored for AI learners.

2. Choose Your AI Specialty

AI is a vast field.

To learn quickly, focus on a specific area that aligns with your interests or career goals.

Pick a path:

• Machine Learning

• Natural Language Processing

• Computer Vision

• Robotics

• Deep Learning

Many of these AI specialties overlap, so just pick one and you can always change later.

Once you've chosen your focus, look for specialized courses or tutorials in that area.

3. Take as Many Online Courses As You Can

With your foundation set and path chosen, it's time to immerse yourself in AI-specific learning:

- MOOCs: Platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udacity offer comprehensive AI courses from top universities. In the next segment, I’ll some AI courses you can take.

- YouTube: Follow YT channels that teach about AI, AI news, and tutorials: like Matt Wolfe, AI Explained, Two Minute Papers, Deeplearning.ai, The AI Advantage, MatVidPro AI, The AI Grid, and Siraj Raval.

- Newsletters: Newsletters are great for quick and digestible information about AI: The Juicer, 80/20 AI, Brainbuzz, WKND AI, and Mindstream.

Choose a primary learning resource and stick with it.

Oh, and access my free AI bundle if you haven’t!

Jumping between multiple courses can slow your progress.

4. Get Hands-On Experience (This is important!)

Theory alone isn't enough.

To truly understand AI, you need to apply your knowledge:

- Build a simple project: Begin with simple projects like building a basic chatbot or image classifier. I’d recommend coding simple regression models, then play around with computer vision projects first.

- Use Python Libraries: Familiarize yourself with popular AI libraries within Python like TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn.

- Kaggle Competitions: Participate in beginner-friendly AI competitions to test your skills against real-world problems. Kaggle is a platform where data scientists and AI engineers test their algorithms and compete. It’s also where you’ll find plenty of great datasets.

Don't be afraid to experiment and debug your code.

Be patient in this learning process!

5. Explore Existing AI Tools

You don’t have to build AI tools from scratch.

Spend some time exploring AI tools out in the market.

Here are some categories of AI tools:

• AI Chatbots (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini)

• AI Writing Tools

• AI Video Editing Tools

• AI Data Analysis Tools

• AI Storytelling Tools

• AI Automation Tools

• AI SEO Tools

• AI Sales Tools

• AI Coding Tools

• AI Audio Tools

For a full list of tools, check out my AI tools database.

For more up-to-date versions, see this list of AI tool databases.

Conclusion

With these steps – you can rapidly build your AI expertise.

All the best - I’m cheering you on from the bleachers!!! 👋🏻

I’ll be sharing my personal journey into AI soon. 😃 

2. 9 Best AI Courses in 2024: A Quick Guide 🧑🏻‍🎓

Looking to upskill in AI?

Here are some courses that I recommend!

(more details after the table)

1. AI For Everyone (Coursera)

This course gives you a comprehensive overview of AI, what it can do, its misconceptions and benefits, and what to expect for the future, says the article.

Perfect for those seeking AI literacy without diving into technical details.

2. Artificial Intelligence Nanodegree (Udacity)

This program offers a general overview of core AI techniques, following a similar path to Peter Norvig's renowned AI textbook. It's ideal for those wanting hands-on experience with fundamental AI concepts.

3.Computer Science for AI Professional Certificate (Harvard/edX)

Known for its heavy use of unique and challenging problem sets, this course builds a solid computer science foundation crucial for AI development.

4. LangChain - Develop LLM powered applications (Udemy)

This course teaches the most popular Python libraries and techniques for taking advantage of recent LLM innovations, making it perfect for developers looking to build advanced AI applications.

5. Large Language Models Professional Certificate (Databricks)

Over three weeks, this course will teach you how LLMs work, what they can do, and how to build projects with them, offering a deep dive into the world of large language models.

6. Deep Learning Specialization (Coursera)

This course takes a deep dive into deep neural networks, providing essential knowledge for understanding cutting-edge AI innovations.

7. Self-Driving Cars with Duckietown (ETH Zurich)

Uniquely, this course pairs lessons with a physical kit, allowing you to learn the essential functions of an autonomous vehicle on the road.

8. Artificial Intelligence (MIT OpenCourseWare)

This free course offers a similar AI educational experience to MIT students without the cost, focusing on classic AI algorithms and applications.

9. CS224N: Natural Language Processing with Deep Learning (Stanford)

Described as the absolute best NLP course you can find online, this course covers a wide range of NLP and Deep Learning topics.

3. Create Slides Instantly with Claude’s 3.5 Sonnet 📜

Have you heard the news?

Claude released their new 3.5 Sonnet model for free.

And it’s better than ChatGPT-4o.

Watch the above tutorial on how educators can create slides in minutes.

If you’re new to Claude, here’s a complete guide by TheAIGRID:

If you have any questions or feedback, reply to this email. (I'll personally reply! :)