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
Show info about module content
20 videos•Total 119 minutes
Course Introduction•5 minutes
Meet your instructor: Soroush Razavi•1 minute
Meet your instructor: Amreen Anbar•2 minutes
What is Generative AI?•5 minutes
Applications of Chatbots•8 minutes
Applications of Image Models•6 minutes
Applications of Audio Models•7 minutes
Applications of Video Models•6 minutes
GenAI in Healthcare•6 minutes
GenAI in Education and Training•8 minutes
GenAI in Creative Industries•7 minutes
GenAI in Media and Entertainment•4 minutes
How Does Generative AI Work?•8 minutes
Multimodal Generative AI•8 minutes
Generative AI vs Discriminative AI•8 minutes
Generative AI Model: GANs•8 minutes
Generative AI Model: Transformer-Based Models•6 minutes
Generative AI Model: Diffusion Models•8 minutes
Generative AI Model: VAEs•7 minutes
Module 1 Recap•2 minutes
4 assignments•Total 160 minutes
Lesson 1 Quiz•30 minutes
Lesson 2 Quiz•30 minutes
Lesson 3 Quiz•30 minutes
Module 1 Quiz•70 minutes
NLP Essentials
Module 2•5 hours to complete
Module details
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
Show info about module content
18 videos•Total 125 minutes
Module 2 Introduction•2 minutes
What is NLP?•7 minutes
Evolution of NLP (Part 1)•9 minutes
Evolution of NLP (Part 2)•6 minutes
Probabilistic Models in NLP•10 minutes
Transition From RNNs to Transformers•8 minutes
Text PreProcessing and Tokenization•7 minutes
Why Do We Need Text Representation?•9 minutes
One-Hot Encoding & Bag of Words•5 minutes
Word2Vec to Contextual Embedding•7 minutes
Origins of Transformers•8 minutes
How Transformers Work? •9 minutes
Positional Encoding•9 minutes
Self-Attention•6 minutes
Multi-Head and Masked Multi-Head Attention•8 minutes
Encoder and Decoder •6 minutes
Different Types of Transformers•7 minutes
Module 2 Recap•2 minutes
4 assignments•Total 150 minutes
Lesson 1 Quiz•30 minutes
Lesson 2 Quiz•10 minutes
Lesson 3 Quiz•30 minutes
Module 2 Quiz•80 minutes
Practical use of LLMs
Module 3•3 hours to complete
Module details
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.
Towards More Reliable LLMs: A Guide to Enhanced Outputs•5 minutes
Prompt Engineering: The Fundamentals•7 minutes
Prompt Engineering: Techniques and Applications•6 minutes
Beyond Prompt Engineering: RAG•6 minutes
Beyond Prompt Engineering: Fine Tuning•7 minutes
Module 3 Recap•2 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
How to Get Private Key•10 minutes
How to Choose LLM?•10 minutes
4 assignments•Total 100 minutes
Lesson 1 Quiz•10 minutes
Lesson 2 Quiz•10 minutes
Lesson 3 Quiz•20 minutes
Module 3 Quiz•60 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Think about how you can use GenAI to make your daily challenges easier•10 minutes
Ethical Considerations and Responsible Development in AI
Module 4•4 hours to complete
Module details
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
Show info about module content
17 videos•Total 109 minutes
Module 4 Introduction•2 minutes
Limitations of LLMs: Bias•8 minutes
Limitations of LLMs: Hallucination•4 minutes
Ownership in Generative AI•6 minutes
Toward Responsible AI and Explainability•7 minutes
Algorithmic Bias and Fairness: Analysis and Examples•8 minutes
Algorithmic Bias and Fairness: Methodologies for Mitigation •5 minutes
AI Hallucinations: Documented Occurrences and Statistical Perspectives •8 minutes
AI Hallucinations: Remediation•7 minutes
Prompt Hacking: Exploiting AI Behavior•9 minutes
Prompt Hacking: Mitigation •8 minutes
Imitating Artistic Style: In There a Difference?•6 minutes
Intellectual Property and Generative AI: Strategic Approaches•6 minutes
Technical and Theoretical Solutions to Copyright Infringement•7 minutes
Privacy Preservation in AI Systems: Advanced Techniques for Data Protection•6 minutes
Ethical AI Frameworks •9 minutes
Course Wrap up•3 minutes
4 assignments•Total 160 minutes
Lesson 1 Quiz•20 minutes
Lesson 2 Quiz•30 minutes
Lesson 3 Quiz•30 minutes
Module 4 Quiz•80 minutes
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) is home to some of the world’s top talent in machine intelligence. We’re an Alberta-based
research institute that pushes the bounds of academic knowledge and guides business understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.