Amazon is launching a free program called “AI Ready” to provide generative AI training to two million people globally by 2025. The program consists of eight free courses available through Amazon’s learning website, and is designed for beginners and advanced users in both tech and tech-adjacent roles. Three courses are aimed at business and nontechnical users, while five are designed for developer and technical audiences. Additionally, Amazon is providing Udacity scholarships valued at more than $12 million to more than 50,000 high school and university students from underrepresented communities around the world. According to AWS VP of data and AI, Swami Sivasubramanian, the goal of AI Ready is to help level the playing field of AI education and make AI education accessible to anyone with a desire to learn.
Amazon notes that there is a serious shortage of qualified programmers, technicians, and AI-skilled talent. The company aims to “democratize” generative AI education to benefit not just its own employees, but also its enterprise customers and AWS (Amazon Web Service) customers. The program will provide skills in platforms including Amazon Bedrock AI and Amazon CodeWhisperer, a tool that automatically generates code.
