📅 Week 1 – Foundations of AI and Azure

🎯 Objectives:

• Understand core AI concepts
• Get an overview of Azure cloud services
• Set up your Azure environment

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✅ Part 1: Introduction to AI

1. What is Artificial Intelligence?

AI is the simulation of human intelligence in machines. It allows systems to learn, reason, and make decisions.

2. Key Branches of AI:

AI Branch	Description
Machine Learning (ML)	Teaching computers to learn from data
Deep Learning (DL)	ML using neural networks (e.g., image/speech recognition)
Natural Language Processing (NLP)	Language understanding (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Translate)
Computer Vision	AI that interprets images/videos
Robotics & Expert Systems	Physical machines and rule-based AI

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✅ Part 2: Introduction to Azure

1. What is Microsoft Azure?

Azure is Microsoft’s cloud platform offering 200+ services across AI, ML, IoT, DevOps, Databases, and more.

2. Core Azure Services (important for AI):

Service	Description
Azure Machine Learning	Build, train, deploy ML models
Azure Cognitive Services	Prebuilt AI APIs (vision, speech, language, decision)
Azure OpenAI Service	Use models like GPT, DALL·E, Whisper
Azure Data Factory	Data integration and orchestration
Azure Blob Storage	Store training data and files
Azure Notebooks / ML Studio	Code and train models visually or using Python
Azure Functions	Serverless event-driven logic

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🧪 Hands-On Task:

1. Create a Free Azure Account:
   https://azure.microsoft.com/free
2. Explore Azure Portal UI:
   Familiarize yourself with Dashboard, Resource Groups, and Search.
3. Try Azure AI Demos:
   Visit https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cognitive-services/#demo

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📘 Study Resources:

• AI-900 Certification Path (Microsoft Fundamentals for AI)
• Docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/machine-learning/
• YouTube Playlist: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
• Book: “Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras & TensorFlow”

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🎯 Next Steps for Week 2:

• Machine Learning Basics
• Azure Cognitive Services: Vision, Language, Speech
• Build a No-Code AI App on Azure