Learn Artificial Intelligence from Scratch: The Best Resources, Courses, and Golden Tips for Beginners
If your answer is yes, you're not alone. The demand for learning artificial intelligence has doubled in recent years, whether to work in major tech companies or to create personal projects that change your professional life.
But the real question is, where do you start?
In this comprehensive guide, we will take you step by step to learn artificial intelligence from scratch, mentioning the best resources, courses, practical tips, and real examples to help you chart your path with confidence.Why are you learning artificial intelligence now?
Labor market demand: Global reports predict that artificial intelligence will create more than 97 million new jobs by 2025.Diversity of fields: from healthcare to gaming, and from marketing to industry... there is no sector untouched by artificial intelligence.
Opportunity for innovation: Learning AI gives you the tools to create solutions for real problems, opening the doors to entrepreneurship.
Real-life example:
Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, recently launched initiatives that rely on artificial intelligence to teach children in an interactive and personalized way, revolutionizing smart education methods..jpg)
Do you need a technical background before starting?
Let's be frank:
Having a background in mathematics and programming will help you a lot, but it's not an absolute requirement.There are simplified ways to enter the world of artificial intelligence without drowning in complex mathematical equations from the start.
What you need as a start:
- A basic understanding of programming concepts (such as variables and loops).- A light background on statistics (concepts like mean and standard deviation).
- A strong desire for continuous learning and experimentation.
The best sources for learning artificial intelligence for beginners:
Here is a carefully selected collection, based on real experiences and insights from students who have become professionals:.jpg)
1. Free and paid courses:
- Andrew Ng course on Coursera:
Course name: Machine LearningDuration: approximately 11 weeks.
Why is it special? It simplifies basic concepts in a way that everyone can understand. It is considered the "golden gateway" to entering the world of AI.
Course link: Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification | Coursera
- DeepLearning.AI Specialization:
A specialized program consisting of 5 courses that dives deep into neural networks and deep learning.- Introducción a la Inteligencia Artificial - Udacity:
In collaboration with IBM and Google, a strong program with real practical projects.2. Leading educational platforms:
edX: Courses from universities like MIT and Harvard.fast.ai: Free courses focused on learning artificial intelligence practically and quickly.
DataCamp and Kaggle Learn: Great for learning data science and machine learning interactively.
Essential books for learning artificial intelligence:
- "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern" Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig
(It is considered the holy book in the field of artificial intelligence.)- "Deep Learning"—Ian" Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, Aaron Courville
(A fundamental reference for understanding deep neural networks).- "Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow" - Aurélien Géron
(A very practical book for developers and programmers).Golden tips for beginners: How to learn artificial intelligence wisely?
Learning artificial intelligence is not a sprint... it's a marathon. Here are some tips that will shorten your path:1. Learn by doing, not just by watching:
Whenever you watch a lesson or read an explanation, apply it immediately to a small project.Example: If you learn about supervised learning algorithms, try building a simple model that predicts house prices based on their features.
2. Start with small projects:
Don't start by trying to build a "ChatGPT-like chatbot" from day one!Start with simple projects such as
- Image classification.
- Price expectations.
- Sentiment analysis of tweets.
3. Participate in artificial intelligence competitions:
Kaggle is the perfect place to hone your skills through real challenges and competitions.4. Understand the basics of mathematics intelligently.
Don't shy away from linear algebra, statistics, and calculus.But don't get bogged down in theory. Learn exactly what you need to solve real problems.
Practical tip:
Follow YouTube channels like "3Blue1Brown" to understand math in a visually enjoyable way.5. Learn the basic tools:
Programming languages: Python (with libraries like Numpy, Pandas, TensorFlow, PyTorch)Work environments: Jupyter Notebook, Google Colab
A practical roadmap for learning artificial intelligence from scratch:
To make things easier for you, here is a practical roadmap you can follow:- Month 1: Learn the basics of programming in Python, such as a script for simple data analysis.
- Month 2: Learning basic mathematics for artificial intelligence, such as using matrices and linear algebra to solve simple problems.
- Month 3: Learning the introduction to machine learning, such as building a model to predict student grades.
- Month 4: Learning neural networks, such as building a network that classifies images between a cat and a dog.
- Month 5: Real projects and competitions, like participating in a challenge on Kaggle.
Raheel Thomas: I studied self-learning through fast.ai, and today I develop smart recommendation systems for e-commerce platforms.
- Month 3: Learning the introduction to machine learning, such as building a model to predict student grades.
- Month 4: Learning neural networks, such as building a network that classifies images between a cat and a dog.
- Month 5: Real projects and competitions, like participating in a challenge on Kaggle.
Real examples of those who started from scratch and succeeded in learning artificial intelligence:
Joshua Carmeli: He started learning artificial intelligence through free courses, and today he works as a deep learning engineer at a startup that relies on AI.Raheel Thomas: I studied self-learning through fast.ai, and today I develop smart recommendation systems for e-commerce platforms.
The biggest mistakes beginners make:
- Jumping into complex projects before mastering the basics.- Just watching without taking action.
- The exaggerated fear of mathematics.
- Comparing oneself to others and feeling quick frustration.
Remember: Every professional was once a confused beginner!
The future of artificial intelligence: Are you ready to hop on the train?
Every time we use the Google Maps app or ask for help from ChatGPT, we are dealing with the result of years of AI development.The future promises to be smarter and more reliant on machines... And this makes learning artificial intelligence a golden investment in your professional future.
Conclusion and an open question for you:
Learning artificial intelligence is not just a technical skill; it is an intellectual adventure that will change the way you view the world around you.
Start small, be patient, and enjoy the journey!