Google throws open its artificial intelligence and machine learning courses to all

'Learn with Google' portal will enable anyone to learn about AI and machine learning

Google is to make its artificial intelligence and machine learning courses - previously only for insiders - available to everyone.

The new 'Learn with Google' AI portal will let anyone with an interest, at almost any level, to learn how to make the most of AI and neural networking. Previously, the courses were designed purely as an internal for the purpose of training Google drones.

The course was designed as part of the company's move to become "AI first" company.

"To help everyone understand how AI can solve challenging problems, we've created a resource called Learn with Google AI. This site provides ways to learn about core ML concepts, develop and hone your ML skills, and apply ML to real-world problems," wrote Google's technical program manager Zuri Kemp in a blog posting explaining the decision.

She continued: "From deep learning experts looking for advanced tutorials and materials on TensorFlow, to "curious cats" who want to take their first steps with AI, anyone looking for educational content from ML experts at Google can find it here."

There's also a Machine Learning Crash Course (MLCC) which "provides exercises, interactive visualizations, and instructional videos that anyone can use to learn and practice ML concepts."

The free course has already been signed up for by 18,000 Googlers, who have used the skills they learned for projects as diverse as collaborating on the cameras on Daydream headsets, to virtual reality for Google Earth, to intelligently improving the streaming quality of YouTube video.

It's described as a "fast-paced, practical introduction to ML fundamentals for Googlers", originally designed by the engineering education team inside Google.

Google is promising that this is the beginning of the offer and that there will be additional courses and documentation in the coming months.

Google has been pushing AI in all parts of its business, ranging from Google Assistant on mobile through to big hairy audacious projects such as Google Deep Mind, which has been working on intelligent wearables for sufferers of long-term health conditions.

At a wider level, the same technology can also be leveraged by other companies inside Alphabet and beyond to all companies using the G Suite apps.