This guide to learning artificial intelligence is suitable for any beginner, no matter where you鈥檙e starting from.
Every time you shop online, search for information on Google, or watch a show on Netflix, you interact with a form of artificial intelligence (AI). The applications of AI are everywhere and will only continue to grow.聽Learning AI can help you understand how technology can improve our lives through products and services. There are also plenty of job opportunities in this field, should you choose to pursue it.
Learning AI doesn鈥檛 have to be difficult, and in this guide, we鈥檒l take you through how to learn AI and create a learning plan. If you're ready to build your AI skills, consider enrolling in the Google AI Essentials Specialization, where you'll learn to write clear and specific prompts to get the output you want - you鈥檒l apply prompting techniques to help summarize, create tag lines, and more.
Learning AI is increasingly important because it is a revolutionary technology that is transforming the way we live, work, and communicate with each other. With organizations across industries worldwide collecting big data, AI helps us make sense of it all.聽
AI engineers earn a median salary of $136,620 a year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics []. Professionals in this field can expect the number of jobs to grow by 23 percent over the next decade.聽
Besides being a lucrative career path, it is a fast-growing field and an intellectually stimulating discipline to learn.
Hear more about AI in this lecture from Stanford and DeepLearning.AI's Machine Learning Specialization:
Here are four steps to guide your learning. To start your journey into AI, develop a learning plan by assessing your current level of knowledge and the amount of time and resources you can devote to learning.
Before you take a class, we recommend developing a learning plan. This plan should include a tentative timeline, skill-building goals, and the activities, programs, and resources you鈥檒l need to gain those skills.聽First, ask yourself the following questions:
Your level of knowledge of artificial intelligence: Are you a true beginner? Do you have a foundation in math and statistical skills? Are you familiar with basic terminology and concepts?聽
Your intention for learning: Are you pursuing a new career or just supplementing your current career?
How much time you can spend learning: Are you currently employed? Do you want to learn full-time or part-time?
How much money you can spend: Do you want to invest in a boot camp, take professional courses online, or watch some videos on YouTube and TikTok?
How do you want to learn: Are you interested in pursuing a degree program, a boot camp, or self-teaching through a variety of online courses?
Before starting your learning journey, you鈥檒l want to have a foundation in the following areas. These skills form a base for learning complex AI skills and tools.
Basic statistics: AI skills are much easier to learn when you have a firm grasp of statistics and interpreting data. You鈥檒l want to know concepts such as statistical significance, regression, distribution, and likelihood, all of which play a role in AI applications.
Basic math: Understanding AI, especially machine learning and deep learning, relies on knowing mathematical concepts such as calculus, probability, and linear algebra. These frequently appear in AI algorithms and models.
Curiosity and adaptability: AI is complex and rapidly evolving, so there is a constant need to keep up with new techniques and tools. Those looking to pursue a career in AI should have an insatiable thirst for learning and an adaptable mindset for problem-solving.
The depth to which you鈥檒l need to learn these prerequisite skills depends on your career goals. An aspiring AI engineer will definitely need to master these, while a data analyst looking to expand their skill set may start with an introductory class in AI.聽
If you already have a baseline understanding of statistics and math and are open to learning, you can move on to Step 3.
Once you鈥檝e covered the prerequisites, let鈥檚 dive into the essential skills you鈥檒l need for AI. Your level of mastery will depend on the type of role you鈥檙e pursuing.聽
Knowing how to code is essential to implementing AI applications because you can develop AI algorithms and models, manipulate data, and use AI programs. Python is one of the more popular languages due to its simplicity and adaptability. R is another favorite, and many others, such as Java and C++.
A data structure is a specialized format for organizing, storing, retrieving, and manipulating data. Knowing the different types, such as trees, lists, and arrays, is necessary for writing code that can turn into complex AI algorithms and models.
Data science encompasses a wide variety of tools and algorithms used to find patterns in raw data. Data scientists have a deep understanding of the product or service user, as well as the comprehensive process of extracting insights from tons of data. AI professionals need to know data science so they can deliver the right algorithms.
This popular subset of AI is important because it powers many of our products and services today. Machines learn from data to make predictions and improve a product鈥檚 performance. AI professionals need to know different algorithms, how they work, and when to apply them.
Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses many layers of neural networks to understand patterns in data. It鈥檚 often used in the most advanced AI applications, such as self-driving cars.
Along with building your AI skills, you鈥檒l want to know how to use AI tools and programs, such as libraries and frameworks, that will be critical in your AI learning journey. When choosing the right AI tools, it鈥檚 wise to be familiar with which programming languages they align with, since many tools are dependent on the language used.
Here are some popular tools and libraries specifically for Python:
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厂肠颈办颈迟-濒别补谤苍听
笔补苍诲补蝉听
罢别苍蝉辞谤蹿濒辞飞听
Seaborn
Theano
Keras
PyTorch
Matplotlib
The amount of time it takes to learn artificial intelligence depends on several factors, including:
Prerequisite knowledge: If you have general math and statistics knowledge, you can skip to learning AI skills and tools.
Career intent: If you want to pursue a job in AI, you鈥檒l want a more comprehensive education than someone who wants to add context to their data analytics role.
Background knowledge: If you鈥檙e switching from another major or field, then it鈥檒l take longer to learn than for someone already working in the technology field and has a basic understanding of its complex jargon.聽
Learning on your own and wondering how to stay on track? Develop a learning plan to outline how and where to focus your time. Below, we鈥檝e provided a sample of a nine-month intensive learning plan, but your timeline may be longer or shorter depending on your career goals.
Months 1-3: Basics of mathematics and statistics, programming, and data structures
Math and statistics: Learn the basics by studying calculus, algebra, statistics, and probability, which will serve as a foundation for your AI journey.
Programming: Learn a programming language, like Python or R. You鈥檒l then become familiar with libraries and packages.
Data structures: Start learning how to store, retrieve, and manipulate datasets, and then how to clean and prepare them, which is necessary for any AI project.
Months 4-6: Dive into data science, machine learning, and deep learning
Data science: Learn the basics of data science and how AI can help facilitate extracting and deriving insights from data.
Machine learning: Dive into the various types of machine learning algorithms, such as supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning.聽
Deep learning: Understand neural networks and the concepts of deep learning.
Months 7-9: Get familiar with AI tools and choose a specialization
AI tools: Once you鈥檝e mastered the basics, you can start using the different libraries associated with the programming language you learned, as well as other AI tools such as ChatGPT.
Specialization: You may want to specialize in a specific area of AI, such as natural language processing, or perhaps how to apply AI to another field.聽
Further learning and job search: Start looking for AI jobs, if that was part of your intention for learning. Continue to keep up with AI trends with blogs, podcasts, and more.聽
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1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 鈥, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-and-information-research-scientists.htm.鈥 Accessed July 25, 2025.
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