Introduction to AI Concepts

AI for Business Transformation Certificate 

Take a single AI course or complete all five four-week courses to earn the AI for Business Transformation Certificate. Designed for managers, working professionals, and non-technical learners, the program develops the practical skills and business judgment needed to apply AI effectively in business settings.  

Participants learn to identify appropriate uses for AI, evaluate outputs, assess organizational readiness, manage risk, improve workflows, and guide responsible adoption. The courses emphasize methods and judgment that transfer across AI tools and platforms, helping participants build skills they can apply as technologies and products change. 

Topics include AI foundations, marketing and customer experience, business operations, strategy, and AI-supported data analysis. No programming or technical background is required. Participants may take courses individually or complete the full certificate over one or more terms, depending on their schedule.  

This Course: Introduction to AI Concepts 

Introduction to AI Concepts provides a practical foundation for understanding where artificial intelligence fits in modern business and how to use it effectively and responsibly. Participants learn to distinguish AI from automation and analytics, understand major AI technologies such as generative AI, machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and speech AI, and identify the kinds of business problems each can address. 

The course connects AI concepts to organizational needs. Participants examine applications across industries, analyze business processes and use cases, and use the AI Value Chain to connect business goals with data, technology, implementation, monitoring, and governance. They also consider whether an organization has the data, processes, skills, governance, and human oversight needed to adopt AI successfully. 

Participants develop practical methods for working with generative AI that transfer across tools and platforms. They learn to frame tasks, provide useful context and grounding, refine results through dialogue, and verify outputs before using them in business work. ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot serve as working environments for applying these methods to research, writing, analysis, content development, and workplace productivity. 

The course also examines data quality, privacy, bias, security, accountability, and responsible use. The emphasis throughout is on practical AI literacy: understanding what AI can do, where it can create value, when it may not be the right tool, and how human judgment and oversight shape reliable AI-assisted work. No programming or model-building experience is required. 

For any questions about course content, please contact the course instructor, Chester King -- chking@lasell.edu. Visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/chesterhking/ for more information.

This section of Introduction to AI Concepts runs 9/13-10/11 in the Fall 2026 term. Students may enroll in the course up until 9/16.

For any questions about enrollment or Lasell Professional Studies, please contact profstudies@lasell.edu.