Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
AWS Skill Builder
Last updated February 23, 2026
Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence is a free, one-hour course that lays the conceptual groundwork beneath the buzzwords. It untangles how artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI actually relate to one another, then builds up the core vocabulary from there: the kinds of data models learn from, the difference between supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, what a neural network is, and how the main types of foundation model — large language, diffusion, and multimodal — fit the picture. The closing section shows where a handful of AWS services apply these ideas to real problems. It mixes short videos, readable text, and interactive elements, and assumes no specific job role.
What you'll learn
- How AI, ML, deep learning, and generative AI relate and differ
- The foundational terms that run through the field
- Types of training data, and supervised/unsupervised/reinforcement learning
- What a neural network is, in plain terms
- The foundation-model lifecycle and its three main kinds (LLM, diffusion, multimodal)
- Where AWS services apply AI/ML to real problems
Frequently asked questions about Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Who is Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for?
Anyone curious about AI and machine learning who wants a solid grounding in the core ideas, regardless of their job or technical role.
Is Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence free?
Yes — Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence is completely free to take.
What are the prerequisites for Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence?
None required; recommends foundational AWS knowledge and basic AI and ML concepts beforehand.
Why we suggest this course
A quick, structured way to get the foundational terms straight before going deeper into AI — and it costs nothing. One thing to know: it is built by AWS and points to AWS services in its later sections, so part of the course is product-oriented rather than vendor-neutral; the core concepts, though, are general.