Designing and Building
AI SolutionsCornell

Certificate Program

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s a reality that is transforming our world. This course uncovers the true essence of AI, cutting through the hype to reveal its practical applications and real-world value. You’ll explore AI’s role in creating significant business opportunities and learn to apply a value-driven framework to identify these opportunities. Through interactive exercises and hands-on data analytics, you’ll gain the skills to characterize the business potential of AI products.

The course will cover the spectrum of AI technologies, from traditional rule-based systems to cutting-edge neural networks and generative AI. You’ll focus on practical applications, learning not only how to leverage AI’s power but also how to address its risks and ethical implications. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to distinguish between hype and reality, formulate AI product ideas with actionable value, and effectively utilize AI algorithms in product development to drive impactful results.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced to simulate human intelligence, enabling computers to perform tasks such as understanding natural language, learning from experience, problem-solving, and making decisions. This course introduces you to both traditional and modern AI approaches, starting with Good Old-Fashioned AI (GOFAI) which relies on symbolic logic. You’ll learn how to teach computers to make predictions and decisions using machine learning techniques, focusing on practical applications that solve real-world problems and create business value.

Through hands-on exercises, you will design and refine machine learning models, including logistic regression and decision trees. You’ll develop the skills to build AI systems that can predict outcomes and improve over time. By the end of this course, you will be able to create AI solutions that effectively leverage data to meet specific business objectives.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Creating Business Value with AI

In the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), data is the lifeblood of effective models. The adage “garbage in, garbage out” highlights the necessity of using high-quality data to train AI systems. This course is designed to equip you with the skills to define data requirements and acquire necessary data through web scraping techniques. You will learn to categorize and analyze data for relevance and insights, ensuring its quality through meticulous cleaning and preprocessing.

We will examine various aspects of data preparation, including handling missing values, identifying and addressing outliers, and ensuring data consistency. The course also covers the critical issues of data bias, privacy, and ethical considerations, providing strategies to mitigate these challenges. You will explore how to build resilient AI models and understand the influence of data on different features of a business model. By the end of this course, you will be able to leverage data for strategic competitive advantage and create AI models that drive meaningful business outcomes.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Creating Business Value with AI
• Exploring Good Old-Fashioned AI (GOFAI)

Good Old-Fashioned AI (GOFAI) is effective for many tasks but has limitations when dealing with complex data patterns. Neural networks (NN), inspired by the human brain, offer a powerful alternative by learning from data patterns and relationships. This course will introduce you to the foundations and architectures of neural networks, enabling you to train, evaluate, and optimize these models to improve performance. You will explore the impact of data volume and model complexity on predictions, ensuring you select the most suitable NN models for various business scenarios. Additionally, the course addresses ethical considerations, such as model bias and data privacy, to ensure responsible AI implementation.

By examining real-world applications and engaging in hands-on exercises, you will develop practical skills in configuring neural networks and evaluating their performance. This course will equip you with the knowledge to apply these techniques effectively and create an action plan to address ethical concerns, ensuring your AI projects are both effective and responsible.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• • Creating Business Value with AI
  • Exploring Good Old-Fashioned AI (GOFAI)
  • Leveraging Data for AI Solutions

Generative AI is revolutionizing how we create and innovate, offering new possibilities for product development and user engagement. This course delves into the current uses of generative AI and explores future innovations. You will learn to leverage generative AI to test and refine your value-creation ideas, considering the sociocultural implications of your product concepts. The course will guide you through the process of using generative AI techniques to bring a specific AI product idea to life, with a strong emphasis on ethical considerations, such as model bias and data privacy.

Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, you will develop practical skills in crafting business ideas using generative AI. You will learn to enhance AI-driven user interfaces and experiences, create effective prompting strategies for AI text generation, and develop strategic plans for ethical AI implementation. By the end of this course, you will be equipped to use generative AI to drive innovation and create value in a responsible and impactful way.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• • • Creating Business Value with AI
    • Exploring Good Old-Fashioned AI (GOFAI)
    • Leveraging Data for AI Solutions
    • Expanding AI Power and Value Through Neural Networks

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The AI Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of AI. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across a variety of industries.

Upcoming Symposium: March 18, 19 and 20, 2025 11AM – 1PM ET

• Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET
• Wednesday, March 19, 2025 11:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET
• Thursday, March 20, 2025 11:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.