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Introduction to Generative AI: Concepts and Techniques

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Introduction to Generative AI: Concepts and Techniques

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Generative AI Fundamentals Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

This four-module course gives you a clear, practical foundation in Generative AI from what it is and where it’s used, to how modern models work and how to apply them responsibly. You’ll start with the big picture: GenAI capabilities across text, image, audio, and video, plus real-world industry applications. Then you’ll dive into the science behind today’s Large Language Models: text representation (tokenization, embeddings), and the Transformer architecture (positional encoding, self-attention, encoder/decoder flow).

Next, you’ll get hands-on with LLMs and workflows: crafting effective prompts, calling models via web/UI and APIs, running models locally (e.g., via Ollama), and extending capabilities with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and fine-tuning. Finally, you’ll examine challenges and responsible practice, including copyright, privacy and security, explainability, and questions of ownership in the GenAI era. Designed for learners with basic Machine Learning and Python familiarity, the course blends short lessons with labs, quizzes, and exercises. By the end, you’ll understand the core concepts and architectures behind GenAI with a strong sense in ethical and responsible use and GenAI limitations. By the end of this course, learners will be able to: Explain how generative AI spans text, image, audio, and video and assess real industry workflows where it creates value. Trace the evolution of language modeling from probabilistic/NLP approaches to Transformers, and justify why attention overcomes prior limitations. Understand tokenization and word embeddings, and reason about how these representations affect model behavior. Decompose a Transformer block and follow tensors, through self-attention, MLPs, and normalization to explain how representations are formed and refined. Operate LLMs via web UIs, APIs, and locally with Ollama to write minimal inference code and improve outputs using prompt patterns and get familiar with concepts of RAG and Fine-Tuning as possible next steps. Identify, analyze, and explain LLMs shortcomings such as bias, hallucination, ownership, and prompt injection by formulating user-level guidelines, organizational processes, and governance policies.

In the first week of the course, we begin with the most fundamental question: What is Generative AI? From there, we explore the scope of Gen-AI projects and examine the most popular applications for various tasks. Learners will discover how Gen-AI is transforming industries and driving change in sectors such as healthcare, business, and finance. We then provide a high-level overview of the science behind these technologies, preparing participants for more technical concepts.

What's included

20 videos4 assignments

20 videosTotal 119 minutes
  • Course Introduction5 minutes
  • Meet your instructor: Soroush Razavi1 minute
  • Meet your instructor: Amreen Anbar2 minutes
  • What is Generative AI?5 minutes
  • Applications of Chatbots8 minutes
  • Applications of Image Models6 minutes
  • Applications of Audio Models7 minutes
  • Applications of Video Models6 minutes
  • GenAI in Healthcare6 minutes
  • GenAI in Education and Training8 minutes
  • GenAI in Creative Industries7 minutes
  • GenAI in Media and Entertainment4 minutes
  • How Does Generative AI Work?8 minutes
  • Multimodal Generative AI8 minutes
  • Generative AI vs Discriminative AI8 minutes
  • Generative AI Model: GANs8 minutes
  • Generative AI Model: Transformer-Based Models6 minutes
  • Generative AI Model: Diffusion Models8 minutes
  • Generative AI Model: VAEs7 minutes
  • Module 1 Recap2 minutes
4 assignmentsTotal 160 minutes
  • Module 1 Quiz70 minutes
  • Lesson 1 Quiz30 minutes
  • Lesson 2 Quiz30 minutes
  • Lesson 3 Quiz30 minutes

This module grounds learners in Natural Language Processing from its roots to the present. You’ll examine how language is represented and why these steps matter. Building on that foundation, the module demystifies the Transformer, covering positional encoding, self-attention, and multi-head attention. By the end, you’ll understand the end-to-end mechanics that power today’s chatbots.

What's included

18 videos4 assignments

18 videosTotal 125 minutes
  • Module 2 Introduction2 minutes
  • What is NLP?7 minutes
  • Evolution of NLP (Part 1)9 minutes
  • Evolution of NLP (Part 2)6 minutes
  • Probabilistic Models in NLP10 minutes
  • Transition From RNNs to Transformers8 minutes
  • Text PreProcessing and Tokenization7 minutes
  • Why Do We Need Text Representation?9 minutes
  • One-Hot Encoding & Bag of Words5 minutes
  • Word2Vec to Contextual Embedding7 minutes
  • Origins of Transformers8 minutes
  • How Transformers Work? 9 minutes
  • Positional Encoding9 minutes
  • Self-Attention6 minutes
  • Multi-Head and Masked Multi-Head Attention8 minutes
  • Encoder and Decoder 6 minutes
  • Different Types of Transformers7 minutes
  • Module 2 Recap2 minutes
4 assignmentsTotal 150 minutes
  • Module 2 Quiz80 minutes
  • Lesson 1 Quiz30 minutes
  • Lesson 2 Quiz10 minutes
  • Lesson 3 Quiz30 minutes

This module explores how you can turn your ideas into GenAI applications and explores the open-source vs. proprietary model ecosystem. You will get hands-on experience by making API calls to cloud models and running open-source models locally with Ollama. Finally, you will master the complete reliability toolkit, moving from advanced prompt engineering to Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and fine-tuning.

What's included

14 videos2 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt

14 videosTotal 73 minutes
  • Module 3 Introduction1 minute
  • Transformer or LLM?4 minutes
  • Gen-AI Can Solve Your Daily Challenges5 minutes
  • Turning Ideas into Apps: The GenAI Builder’s Path9 minutes
  • What are Different Generative Models?5 minutes
  • Proprietary Models Tour: ChatGPT Features5 minutes
  • API Call to OpenAI5 minutes
  • Accessing Llama Through Ollama4 minutes
  • Towards More Reliable LLMs: A Guide to Enhanced Outputs5 minutes
  • Prompt Engineering: The Fundamentals7 minutes
  • Prompt Engineering: Techniques and Applications6 minutes
  • Beyond Prompt Engineering: RAG6 minutes
  • Beyond Prompt Engineering: Fine Tuning7 minutes
  • Module 3 Recap2 minutes
2 readingsTotal 20 minutes
  • How to Get Private Key10 minutes
  • How to Choose LLM?10 minutes
4 assignmentsTotal 100 minutes
  • Module 3 Quiz60 minutes
  • Lesson 1 Quiz10 minutes
  • Lesson 2 Quiz10 minutes
  • Lesson 3 Quiz20 minutes
1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes
  • Think about how you can use GenAI to make your daily challenges easier10 minutes

Module 4 directly addresses the growing concerns around using Gen AI by focusing on Generative AI's challenges and the principles of Responsible AI. We will investigate critical limitations like bias and hallucinations and explore their mitigations. This module also covers complex issues surrounding intellectual property, data privacy, and ownership, as well as the role of Explainable AI (XAI) in building secure and trustworthy systems.

What's included

17 videos4 assignments

17 videosTotal 109 minutes
  • Module 4 Introduction2 minutes
  • Limitations of LLMs: Bias8 minutes
  • Limitations of LLMs: Hallucination4 minutes
  • Ownership in Generative AI6 minutes
  • Toward Responsible AI and Explainability7 minutes
  • Algorithmic Bias and Fairness: Analysis and Examples8 minutes
  • Algorithmic Bias and Fairness: Methodologies for Mitigation 5 minutes
  • AI Hallucinations: Documented Occurrences and Statistical Perspectives 8 minutes
  • AI Hallucinations: Remediation7 minutes
  • Prompt Hacking: Exploiting AI Behavior9 minutes
  • Prompt Hacking: Mitigation 8 minutes
  • Imitating Artistic Style: In There a Difference?6 minutes
  • Intellectual Property and Generative AI: Strategic Approaches6 minutes
  • Technical and Theoretical Solutions to Copyright Infringement7 minutes
  • Privacy Preservation in AI Systems: Advanced Techniques for Data Protection6 minutes
  • Ethical AI Frameworks 9 minutes
  • Course Wrap up3 minutes
4 assignmentsTotal 160 minutes
  • Module 4 Quiz80 minutes
  • Lesson 1 Quiz20 minutes
  • Lesson 2 Quiz30 minutes
  • Lesson 3 Quiz30 minutes

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Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute
2 Courses1,300 learners

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