Elements of AI

Elements of AI is a free online course for everyone interested in artificial intelligence. The course aims to demystify AI – with no complicated math or programming skills required.

The project was initiated in the spring of 2018 by Reaktor and the University of Helsinki. We teamed up, and within a short, 8-week period we designed, illustrated, developed and launched the first version of the course.

Most would agree that AI increasingly has an almost unfathomable impact on our society as a whole. If more people from all kinds of backgrounds understand the basics of AI, we will eventually also find solutions to a wider range of problems and issues. The course also speaks on the subject of ethics, and emphasises the problem with bias in AI.

The first goal was to educate 1% of the Finnish population. As we passed 2% just two months after launch, the goal is now 1% of the world.

The course is now ranked as #1 Computer Science online course in the world, ahead of Stanford, Harvard, and MIT. More than 1.1M has registered since launch in May 2018. Almost 45% are female. That number is usually around 10% in Computer Science courses. 25% are over 45 years old.