Understanding AI: an introduction for beginners at work

For any adult or employee new to AI: understand what these tools really do, why they get things wrong, and how to judge the claims you hear.

For: Any adult learner or employee who is new to artificial intelligence and wants a clear, non-technical understanding of how it works, where it fails and how it is governed in the United States

  • 2 contact hours
  • 6 modules
  • 9 interactives
  • 4 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain what AI is and is not, using the NIST definition of an AI system and a short timeline of the milestones that led to today's tools.
  • Describe in plain English how machine learning, deep learning and large language models learn patterns from training data.
  • Explain how generative AI produces text, images, audio and video, and why fluent output can still be false.
  • Identify where AI bias comes from and recognize signs of biased or unreliable output before you rely on it.
  • Separate common AI myths from facts and evaluate AI product claims, including the kinds of claims the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has challenged.
  • Summarize the US AI policy landscape (NIST AI Risk Management Framework, federal executive actions, state laws) and describe how AI is changing jobs and skills.

This course explains artificial intelligence (AI) in plain English. You will learn what AI is and is not, how machine learning and large language models learn from data, how generative tools produce text, images, audio and video, and why a fluent answer can still be false. You will practice spotting made-up facts, biased output and inflated product claims in realistic documents.

It is written for anyone meeting AI for the first time: employees whose workplace is adopting AI tools, people who keep hearing bold claims in the news, and team members who want to ask sharper questions before trusting a result. No math, coding or technical background is needed.

Most introductions either oversell AI or bury you in jargon. This one stays conceptual and honest. Every claim about law and policy is tied to a named source and date, every tool example is date-stamped, and you leave with a myth-buster checklist, a verification checklist and a short prompt sheet for testing a tool's limits yourself. For hands-on workplace skills, our separate AI Foundations for the Workplace course (C098) picks up where this one ends.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Explain to a coworker, in two sentences, what a chatbot is actually doing when it answers a question.
  2. Check any AI-produced fact, quote, citation or number against a real source before you repeat it.
  3. Ask a vendor or colleague three pointed questions about any "AI-powered" claim: what data, what testing, what error rate.
  4. Notice when an AI result could be unfair to a group of people and raise it with the person who owns the decision.
  5. Treat unexpected voice messages, videos or images that push you to act fast as possibly synthetic, and verify through a second channel.
  6. Find your employer's AI policy and know which tools you are allowed to use and for what.

Curriculum

6 modules · 20 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01What is AI, and how did we get here?Free preview14 min
  1. What counts as AI, and what doesn't?
  2. Where do you already meet AI every day?
  3. Which milestones explain today's AI boom?
  • Matching activity: What kind of AI is behind it?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02How do machines learn from data?14 min
  1. What is machine learning, in plain English?
  2. What makes deep learning "deep"?
  3. What is a large language model?
  • Sort activity: Written rules or learned patterns?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03How does generative AI create text, images, audio and video?14 min
  1. How does a chatbot write a sentence?
  2. How do image, audio and video generators work?
  3. What role do training data and probability play?
  • Decision tree: Suspicious voice, image or video: what now?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04Why does AI make things up, and where does bias come from?15 min
  1. Why do AI tools hallucinate?
  2. Where does AI bias come from?
  3. How can you spot unreliable or biased output?
  4. What should you do when you find an AI error or a biased result?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the problems in an AI-drafted summary

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

05What can today's AI really do, and which myths should you drop?15 min
  1. What are today's AI tools genuinely good at?
  2. Which AI myths keep tripping people up?
  3. How do you judge an AI product claim?
  4. What changes when AI can take actions, not just write?
  • Ethics dilemma: The AI detector and the feature story
  • Spot the issue: Spot the questionable claims in a vendor brochure
  • Self-assessment: How AI-savvy are your habits?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06How is AI governed in the US, and what does it mean for your job?16 min
  1. Who sets the rules for AI in the United States?
  2. What is the NIST AI Risk Management Framework?
  3. How is AI changing jobs and skills?
  • Branching scenario: The tenant-screening tool

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 70% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

The tenant-screening tool

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

The tenant-screening tool

Svetlana Orlov manages intake at a housing nonprofit in Pawtucket, Rhode Island that places families in affordable rentals. A vendor offers an AI tool that scores applicants on "likelihood of successful tenancy." Her director asks her to recommend whether to use it. You make Svetlana's choices.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Matching activity1
  • Sort activity1
  • Decision tree1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Ethics dilemma1
  • Self-assessment1
  • Branching scenario1

Job aids you keep

  • AI Output Verification ChecklistChecklist
  • AI-Use Checklist: Before You Trust an AI Claim or ToolChecklist
  • Prompt Sheet: Testing a Tool's LimitsPocket card
  • AI Ground Rules Starter (for a team or small organization)Policy starter

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by IACET, any licensing board, professional association or state agency, and it does not certify you in any AI tool or framework. It is general AI literacy education; it does not replace your employer's AI policy or tool-specific training. Check with your employer, board or professional body whether this course can count toward your training or continuing education requirements.

Pathways we are pursuing include IACET accreditation of our course development process and a general certificate program. No approval exists today; we will show any approval on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

Questions about this course

Does this course count for continuing education credit?

It earns a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not approved or accredited by IACET, a licensing board or a professional association today. Many employers accept general training like this toward internal learning goals, and some boards accept self-directed learning, so check with yours before you enroll. We will show any approval on this page only after it is granted.

Do I need any technical background?

No. The course is written for complete beginners and uses everyday examples instead of math or code. If you can use email and a web browser, you can follow it. Technical terms are defined the first time they appear and collected in a glossary you can download and keep.

How is this different from AI Foundations for the Workplace?

This course is conceptual: how AI works, why it fails, what the myths are and how it is governed. AI Foundations for the Workplace (C098) is practical: writing instructions, checking output and protecting data in daily work. Many learners take this course first and the practical one second.

Does it cover my state's AI laws?

It gives a federal overview and uses Colorado and Illinois as examples of how states are acting, with dates and sources. It does not survey every state, because state AI law is changing quickly. If your job involves AI in hiring, lending, housing or similar decisions, check your state's current rules and your employer's policy.

How long does it take, and do I get a certificate?

Plan on about two hours, including the interactive exercises and a 23-question final assessment. You need 70% to pass and can retake it. When you pass, you can download a certificate of completion showing the course title, date and 2 contact hours.

Will the content go out of date?

AI tools and policy change fast, so every tool example and legal reference is date-stamped. We review the course at least every 12 months and sooner when a major federal or state change happens. The update date is shown on the course page.

This course is general education and training awareness on artificial intelligence from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, technical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's AI policies, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.