AI for Beginners (github.com)

Microsoft published "AI For Beginners," a free, 12‑week (24‑lesson) hands‑on curriculum geared to newcomers that blends practical labs, quizzes and executable Jupyter notebooks with dual-framework coding examples in TensorFlow and PyTorch. It covers core modern topics—neural networks/deep learning, image and text architectures—plus symbolic AI (GOFAI), genetic algorithms and multi‑agent systems, while offering bite‑size beginner examples (Hello AI World, simple NN, image classifier, sentiment). The course includes setup guidance for VS Code/Codepaces, educator materials, localized quizzes and broad multilingual support across dozens of languages, and is hosted on GitHub (fork/clone) with community channels (Discord, Azure forums) for support and contributions. Primary author: Dmitry Soshnikov, PhD; editor: Jen Looper, PhD. Significance: this is a practical, code‑first entry point that lowers the barrier to learning applied AI, especially for non‑English speakers and educators wanting ready‑made classroom content. Technically, the curriculum emphasizes reproducible, executable notebooks specific to PyTorch or TensorFlow, provides labs to apply concepts, and notes limitations (not covering business case studies, classic ML depth, cloud‑specific ML platforms, conversational bots, or the deep mathematics behind deep learning). That clarity helps learners choose complementary paths (e.g., Microsoft Learn, Deep Learning textbook) as they advance.