In 2018, Finland launched a free online crash course in artificial intelligence (AI) with the aim of educating its own citizens about this new technology. Finland now offers the six week program for anyone worldwide interested in learning more about AI.
It is in English and German today, – and of course in Finnish and Swedish too – but soon it will also be in French.
The Finnish government said it originally designed the course to give Finnish people an advantage in AI. Finland has always punched above its weight in the tech and education, so it seems sensible to marry the two strengths.
Megan Schaible of the tech consultancy Reaktor, which helped design the course, said the motivation was “to prove that AI should not be left in the hands of a few elite coders.”
More than 1 percent of Finland’s 5.5 million citizens signed up and took the course when launched in Finnish and Swedish.
The course offers short tests at the end of each section, and covers a range of topics from the philosophical implications of AI to technical subjects like Bayesian probability. See, there was a term, you did not know!
It’s supposed to take about six weeks to finish, with each section taking between five and 10 hours.
