Google Launches Free Generative AI Courses

Key takeaways

• Google has launched ten new generative AI learning courses to help upskill those looking for jobs in the future
• Data scientist roles will be up 36% by 2031, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics says
• Lala

Big Tech giant and early artificial intelligence pioneer Google has been playing catch up in the AI wars ever since Microsoft and OpenAI streaked ahead with ChatGPT. But it’s now looking to address the elephant in the room: the average person needs upskilling for the jobs of the future.

It’s officially launched its new generative AI learning path, with ten different courses designed to give the average Joe a better understanding of how AI and machine learning work – especially in a world where AI automation will replace jobs. And for investors, it’s always a good move when one of the leading Big Tech companies thinks long-term about AI. Let’s get into it.

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What is Google’s new generative AI learning course?

In a blog post, Google announced it had launched seven new generative AI courses for free, with another three courses added to the platform yesterday. The courses focus on the differences between AI and machine learning, an introduction to Google’s machine learning training platform Vertex AI and the ethics around responsible AI development.

It’s intended as a jumping-off point for users to understand generative AI, how it fits into the broader AI ecosystem and where they can find other learning materials to help users retrain in new AI-focused careers.

Cynics would say it’s a good way of getting would-be AI enthusiasts into the Google training system and using Google software to build their own AI and machine learning models, helping to solidify Google’s place in the AI wars.

But building AI models takes skills. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has previously predicted there will be a 36% increase in the growth rate for data scientist roles over the next ten years, so these new courses are practical for companies like Google, which will need a lot of AI-focused data scientists in the future.

The future of work with AI

Everyone is super excited about the new chatbots and image generators that can save us time and companies money – which is why the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia have all made headlines lately, pouring billions of dollars into AI investments.

But a fundamental problem remains: people’s jobs might be on the line. A recent Goldman Sachs survey predicted up to 300 million jobs could be lost to AI automation, while two-thirds of existing roles could see at least some part of their current workload taken away with AI. It wasn’t all bad, though: AI is set to add $7 trillion to the global economy in the next decade and the survey pointed out that 60% of jobs today didn’t exist in 1940.

A Microsoft survey of over 30,000 workers and business leaders worldwide was more upbeat. It found that 70% of those surveyed would delegate specific tasks to AI, while business leaders were twice as concerned with using AI to increase productivity than reducing headcount. It might be wishful thinking, considering that the likes of IBM and telecoms company BT are planning to slash tens of thousands of jobs in favor of AI.

What else is Google doing with AI lately?

The new courses aren’t the only move Google has made to encourage AI adoption. It’s also launched its Google for Startups Growth program in Europe, which is a three-month course for European AI entrepreneurs using the tech for health and wellbeing.

Since the dawn of OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT, Google has raced to catch up with its own Bard version for users. Last month it announced there would be significant changes coming to Google’s search function, a core part of the business where it holds around 85% of the market share.

It’s also been under fire this week, along with Meta and TikTok, about labelling AI-generated content after the European Commission said it would rapidly spread misinformation. We saw this in action when an AI-generated image of the Pentagon being attacked saw the S&P 500 briefly drop 0.3% before the image was debunked.

Not to mention, alarm bells are still sounding around AI safety – especially after Dr Geoffrey Hinton, who worked at Google and was considered one of the ‘godfathers of AI’, quit to raise awareness of the topic.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has tried to alleviate some of the concerns with a recent Financial Times opinion piece, where he said, “AI is too important not to regulate, and too important not to regulate well”.

Wall Street’s reaction

Alphabet’s share price has risen nearly 17% in the last month and over 41% since the start of the year. Thanks to AI, it’s been a great year for Google, which presents significant opportunities for the company to capitalize on – which investors will want to see.

Google’s cloud computing division grew 28% in revenue year-over-year last quarter. AI presented an opportunity to take a bite out of Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s AWS cloud computing services, which comprise around 55% of the market share.

Not to mention a focus on upskilling future data scientists and enabling entrepreneurs to create AI companies – Google is looking at the broader picture and relying on its dominant search engine market share, which is perhaps why it’s now outperforming Microsoft’s gains this year.

The bottom line

The world of AI must be mystifying to some of the public, so Google is looking to help bridge that knowledge gap with these new courses and tools available. It’ll certainly help the company find new skilled engineers and scientists to build on future AI endeavors.

As for the stock price, the fact it’s outpacing the early winner, Microsoft, is a sign Google has potentially won back the upper hand. Learning courses form part of the strategy that increases reliance on Google’s AI products – and with a captive search engine market, investors have taken note of the shift.

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