Unless you’ve spent the past year under a rock (in which case, welcome back!), you’ve no doubt heard of generative A.I. and its potential to change everything from coding to writing text. You might even be tempted to learn as much about it as possible; if so, we’ve assembled some handy educational resources for you.

First, What is Generative A.I.?

As the name implies, generative A.I. can generate text, images, code, and other media in response to a user’s prompt. The tech specialists researching generative A.I. rely on machine-learning models and training datasets to “smarten up” their respective platforms; with a popular generative A.I. product like ChatGPT, you can see how the system becomes exponentially smarter with each successive version.

“Generative AI holds enormous potential to create new capabilities and value for enterprise,” reads a handy generative A.I. explainer released last year by IBM. “However, it also can introduce new risks, be they legal, financial or reputational. Many generative models, including those powering ChatGPT, can spout information that sounds authoritative but isn’t true (sometimes called ‘hallucinations’) or is objectionable and biased. Generative models can also inadvertently ingest information that’s personal or copyrighted in their training data and output it later, creating unique challenges for privacy and intellectual property laws.”

Many tech professionals fear that generative A.I. will take their jobs. For example, they envision a future in which companies cut back on hiring software developers and other specialists because a generative A.I. tool can do much of the coding work. But there’s the possibility that generative A.I. will also create new jobs; for example, A.I. prompt engineer is a growing (and lucrative) profession.

Where Can I Learn About Generative A.I.?

For those who leverage online learning, multiple institutions have launched generative A.I. learning courses over the past few years. Some of these courses are introductory, while others are quite advanced.

Google, for example, offers the following online tutorials, which include videos, quizzes, and short lessons:

• Generative AI, explained
• Introduction to Generative AI 
• Introduction to Large Language Models 
• Generative AI Fundamentals Skill Badge 
• What is Generative AI Studio? 
• Introduction to Generative AI Studio 
• Introduction to Image Generation 
• Introduction to Responsible AI 
• Responsible AI: Applying AI Principles with Google Cloud 

As you might expect, online learning portals such as Coursera offer courses from the likes of DeepLearning.AI, IBM, Vanderbilt University, and other institutions. Udacity is also offering a generative A.I. “nanodegree” program, with a focus on skills such as the OpenAI API, image pre-processing, and more; prerequisite skills include Python, neural networks, and more.

But which of these generative A.I. skills will actually land you a job? According to Upwork’s August 2023 analysis of the generative A.I. market, the top 10 generative A.I.-related job searches from companies included, in descending order:

• ChatGPT
• BERT
• Stable Diffusion
• TensorFlow
• A.I. Chatbot
• Generative A.I.
• Image Processing
• PyTorch
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Bard

Whatever your tech specialty, it’s clear that even a baseline knowledge of generative A.I. can prove incredibly useful. If machine learning really interests you from a career perspective, consider mastering tools and frameworks such as ChatGPT, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.