From the FLX AI Hub: You haven’t missed the AI boat

FLCC offers several ways to get started with artificial intelligence.

It has been three years since the fanfare of ChatGPT’s release in November 2022. The chatbot developed by OpenAI gives human-like answers to a wide range of questions, as do its competitors, including Google Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude.  

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human thinking, such as understanding language or making decisions. AI tools can summarize large amounts of information, write computer code, and help you find and organize information.

If you are not using AI, you might feel you’ve missed the boat. It might seem more intimidating today than just a few months ago.

Dave Ghidiu, associate professor of computing sciences, gives a talk on how to get started with AI. It doesn’t have to be, says Dave Ghidiu, associate professor of computing sciences. Dave is part of the FLCC team behind the FLX AI Hub, a community resource at FLCC that helps people learn how to use AI in everyday life and work.

To get your feet wet, the FLX AI Hub offers the AI Challenge, short exercises that help you understand and incorporate AI into your work.

Experimentation is key because what makes AI valuable will be different for everyone. 

“You ask a hundred people how to use it, you get 100 different answers. There's no proper way to do this, but it is about exploring,” he says in a new video (see below). “You can do this at your own pace. The important thing is to just get in there and start doing something.”

Dave gives an in-person talk called “There’s Your Onramp” at schools, colleges and workplaces to help people get started with AI. Local organizations and businesses can schedule a presentation by emailing ai@flcc.edu.

AI for Educators is a series of short beginner courses tailored for the classroom, in particular the K-12 environment. The College launched the series in October and will release one course each month. The first two courses cover AI literacy and how to write prompts. AI for Educators is available by subscription and is designed for teachers at all levels.

In January, FLCC will launch a monthly webinar series to help people engage with AI and dig deeper. Sign up for the FLX AI Hub newsletter to get webinar dates and links.