Computers & Technology   

Step into the fascinating and complex world of artificial intelligence as Dr. Chuck West leads an engaging discussion on one of the most critical challenges of our time—the ethics of AI.

Gone are the days when Issac Asimov’s "Three Laws of Robotics" could serve as a guiding framework for AI morality. Today, artificial intelligence has surged far beyond its early foundations, evolving from simple algorithms into expert systems, machine learning models, deep learning architectures, neural networks, and powerful generative technologies. Yet, with this unprecedented progress comes an urgent question: where do ethical boundaries fit in?

The impact of these technological wonders will shape the future in ways both extraordinary and unpredictable. Will AI usher in a new era of wealth and prosperity, unlocking solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges? Will it lead society into dangerous dependence, pushing us toward an existence of subservience? Or, could the unchecked rise of AI bring consequences far graver than we anticipate?

Join Dr. West as he explores these pressing questions, challenges conventional thinking, and examines the moral compass that must guide AI’s development in an increasingly automated world. This discussion is more than timely—it is essential.

Join Dr. Chuck West for a captivating presentation on the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence—a force that's reshaping technology, business, education, and everyday life. As we witness the rapid evolution of AI, traditional roles may be disrupted, with many jobs disappearing even as entirely new, unimaginable careers emerge. Today, AI touches the lives of millions, and in the near future, its influence will extend to billions, heralding an era of innovation that could redefine longevity and quality of life through breakthroughs in medicine and human augmentation.

Dr. West will guide you through the fast-changing landscape of AI, offering insights on where to channel our energy and when to exercise caution. His discussion spans a broad spectrum—from the ethics of AI and its role in sustainable farming and education to its revolutionary impact on autonomous transportation and the business world. As artificial intelligence continues to weave itself into the fabric of society, its ongoing innovations will not only streamline our daily lives but also fundamentally shape the future. The decisions made today will echo into tomorrow, determining the course of our collective destiny.

Immerse yourself in this exploration of AI’s profound impact and discover how embracing these advancements can empower you to shape a future that benefits us all.

Unlock the full potential of productivity by exploring Google Workspace! With its powerful suite of tools—like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Drive—you can collaborate, create, and stay organized seamlessly, whether you're working solo or as a team.

In this course, you will use the various apps included in Google Workspace to work productively. You will:

• Navigate the Google Workspace environment and use Gmail to send and manage email correspondence
• Manage schedules using Google Calendar
• Communicate with colleagues over text, voice, and video using Google Chat and Google Meet
• Store and share files using Google Drive
• Collaborate on documents using Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Keep
• Collaborate on data using Google Sheets and Google Forms
• Collaborate on websites using Google Sites

Excel can help you organize, calculate, analyze, revise, update, and present your data in ways that will help the decision makers in your organization steer you in the right direction. It will also make these tasks much easier for you to accomplish, and in much less time, than if you used traditional pen-and-paper methods or non-specialized software. This course aims to provide you with a foundation for Excel knowledge and skills, which you can build upon to eventually become an expert in data manipulation.

In this course, you will learn fundamental Excel skills. You will:

• Familiarize yourself with Excel's layout, its various parts, its commands, and its terminology.
• Outline Excel's abilities to quickly, efficiently, and accurately calculate data.
• Update worksheets without throwing away all of the valuable work you've already done.
• Format a worksheet and organize your data.
• Print workbooks.
• Manage the overall structure of your workbooks.

This is your invitation to a world where the mechanics of human decision-making are translated into digital logic. Under Dr. Chuck West’s guidance, you’ll begin with the basics—no previous programming experience required—and evolve into crafting simple Expert Systems that mirror human thought processes through a series of well-defined rules.

The course also ventures into the broader landscape of Expert Systems. You’ll learn to appreciate their historical significance—how they have been used in fields ranging from accounting and logistics to military applications and extensively in medicine. Moreover, exploring their strengths (like clear, explainable decision paths) alongside their weaknesses (such as rigidity when faced with unforeseen scenarios) provides a balanced view that is critical for anyone entering the field of artificial intelligence.

By the end of this journey, you will not only have built your first logic diagram for an Expert System, but you’ll also have gained insight into both the historical legacy and the modern applications of these systems. This is a stepping stone to lucrative careers in the artificial intelligence industry, where a blend of logical reasoning and innovative thinking is highly prized.

This course builds upon the foundational knowledge presented in the Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365™ (Desktop or Online): Part 1 course and will help start you down the road to creating advanced workbooks and worksheets that can help deepen your understanding of organizational intelligence. The ability to analyze massive amounts of data, extract actionable information from it, and present that information to decision makers is at the foundation of a successful organization that is able to compete at a high level.

You will:

• Work with functions.
• Work with lists.
• Analyze data.
• Visualize data with charts.
• Use PivotTables and PivotCharts.

Dr. West offers an inviting glimpse into the transformative world of Deep Learning, a branch of artificial intelligence that surpasses the traditional limitations of Expert Systems. Instead of relying on rigid IF-THEN-ELSE rules, Deep Learning models are designed to learn from vast amounts of data, much like humans learn from their experiences. This dynamic approach allows the models to adapt and discover patterns that might otherwise be overlooked, leading to innovative solutions across a wide range of applications.

This is the first step in understanding the differences and similarities between the various types of artificial intelligence systems and their appropriate applications. Through this workshop, you will develop a basic understanding of how these systems function so that you can intelligently communicate with your peers and your technical staff in developing twenty-first-century solutions. This not only enriches your knowledge, but also opens doors to lucrative career opportunities in one of computer science’s most powerful and rapidly evolving realms.

This course builds on the foundational and intermediate knowledge presented in the Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365™ (Desktop or Online): Part 1 and Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365™ (Desktop or Online): Part 2 courses to help you get the most of your Excel experience. The ability to collaborate with colleagues, automate complex or repetitive tasks, and use conditional logic to construct and apply elaborate formulas and functions will put the full power of Excel right at your fingertips. The more you learn about how to get Excel to do the hard work for you, the more you'll be able to focus on getting the answers you need from the vast amounts of data your organization generates.

You will:

• Work with multiple worksheets and workbooks.
• Share and protect workbooks.
• Automate workbook functionality.
• Use Lookup functions and formula auditing.
• Forecast data.
• Create sparklines and map data.