AI skills training provided to 2 million people globally by 2025

LOS ANGELES – Amazon has announced “AI Ready,” a new commitment designed to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people globally by 2025.

To achieve this goal, Amazon has launched new initiatives for adults and young learners, scaling its existing free AI training programs and removing cost as a barrier to accessing these critical skills.

These initiatives come as a new Amazon Web Services (AWS) study finds strong demand for AI talent. The study also shows potential for workers with AI skills to earn up to 47 percent more in salaries.

AI is the most transformative technology of our generation, according to AWS. “If we are going to unlock the full potential of AI to tackle the world’s most challenging problems, we need to make AI education accessible to anyone with a desire to learn,” it said.

$12 million in scholarships

Through its AWS generative AI scholarships, Amazon will provide Udacity scholarships, valued at more than $12 million. It will offer the scholarships to more than 50,000 high school and university students from underserved and underrepresented communities globally.

Eligible students can take the new Udacity course Introducing Generative AI with AWS for free. The course is designed by AI experts at AWS. It introduces students to foundational generative AI concepts and guides them through a hands-on project.

Upon course completion, students earn a certificate from Udacity to showcase their knowledge to future employers.

Hour of Code Dance Party

Amazon is also set to launch a new collaboration between Amazon Future Engineer and Code.org – the Hour of Code Dance Party: AI Edition.

During this hour-long introduction to coding and AI, students will create their own virtual music video. The activity will feature hit songs from artists including Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles and more.

Students will code their virtual dancer’s choreography and use emojis as AI prompts to generate animated backgrounds. The activity will give participants an introduction to generative AI. Students will learn about large language models and how they are used to power the predictive analytics responsible for creating new images, text and more.

Hour of Code is designed to engage students and teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade. It will take place globally during Computer Science Education Week, December 4–10.

Additionally, AWS will provide up to $8 million in AWS Cloud computing credits to Code.org, which runs on AWS, to further support Hour of Code.

Learn more about the AWS Generative AI Scholarship here.

More information about the Hour of Code Dance Party: AI Edition is available here.