Are you wondering how AI might affect your job or your life?
Do you want to learn more about what AI really means — and how it’s created?
Do you want to understand how AI will develop and affect us in the coming years?

Our goal is to demystify AI

The Elements of AI is a series of free online courses created by MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki. We want to encourage as broad a group of people as possible to learn what AI is, what can (and can’t) be done with AI, and how to start creating AI methods. The courses combine theory with practical exercises and can be completed at your own pace.

— We’re delighted to bring this course to Ireland. It is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to really get to understand what AI is all about. This is a course that is really worthwhile and everyone will find it extremely rewarding. There is no better moment than now to start on your artificial intelligence journey.
Barry O’Sullivan , Professor, University College Cork
— I am very impressed by the focus on AI in Finland and the training 1% of Finland's population in AI - I wish it's a template which other countries can use.
Sundar Pichai , CEO, Google
— The online delivery of courses maximises the reach of education and is a strategic priority at UCC. We’re delighted to support the delivery of the Elements of AI in Ireland. AI is one of the most transformative and important technologies in the world today. We’re very excited to offer online education in this key topic to everyone in Ireland.
John O’Halloran , Interim President, University College Cork
— The idea has a simple nordic ring to it: Start by teaching 1 percent of the country's population, or about 55,000 people, the basic concepts at the root of artificial technology, and gradually build on the number over the next few years.
Politico , Finlands grand AI experiment →
— AI is going to have as big an impact on our society as electricity.
Risto Siilasmaa , Chairman of board, Nokia

Part 1

Introduction to AI

An Introduction to AI is a free online course for everyone interested in learning what AI is, what is possible (and not possible) with AI, and how it affects our lives – with no complicated math or programming required.

To view the most updated course, check out the global version.

Start the course
Robots2

Our story so far

In spring 2018, MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki came together with the aim of helping people to be empowered, not threatened, by artificial intelligence. Together, they built the Elements of AI to teach the basics of AI to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

The free Elements of AI online course will be hosted in Ireland by University College Cork.

1 million students

Over 1 million students have signed up for the Elements of AI course.

170 countries

The course has spread worldwide, with graduating students from over 170 countries.

40 % women

About 40 % of course participants are women, more than double the average for computer science courses.

Partners

University College Cork

University College Cork is an award-winning institution with a history of independent thinking spanning 175 years. Mathematician, philosopher and logician, George Boole, was UCC’s first professor of mathematics (1849). Boolean logic is widely recognised as the foundation of the Information Age.

UCC is home to a student population of over 21,000 and almost 3,000 staff. UCC is proud to be among the world’s leading universities for research impact in sustainability and is ranked in the top two percent of universities globally.