Embracing Secure AI: Unlocking the Power of AI Literacy and Awareness

July 3, 2024

Understanding artificial intelligence (AI) will help your business implement tighter cybersecurity measures. As AI continues to transform industries and redefine business operations, you need to embrace both its implications and applications.

We are excited to launch our free course, AI Literacy and AI Awareness, designed specifically to empower key decision-makers like you with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and educate your workforce.

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Why AI Literacy Matters

AI is revolutionizing the way we work, think and solve business problems. However, you must balance the benefits of secure AI solutions with the nuanced complexities and risks associated with AI.

Here are five AI literacy goals to pursue:

Informed Decision-Making: Understanding AI enables leaders to make better decisions about integrating AI into their business strategies. It helps in evaluating AI solutions, identifying opportunities and avoiding potential pitfalls.
Competitive Advantage: Organizations that leverage AI effectively can gain a significant competitive edge. According to the2024 Cybersecurity Threat and Risk Management Report produced by Optiv and the Ponemon Institute, 49% of IT and cybersecurity professionals who use AI/ML capabilities reported that they seek to maintain a competitive advantage. AI literacy ensures that business leaders can harness AI technologies to drive innovation, improve efficiency and deliver better products and services.
Risk Management: With the rise of AI comes new risks, including cybersecurity threats and ethical concerns. Knowledge of AI allows leaders to anticipate and mitigate these risks, ensuring responsible and secure use of AI technologies.
Employee Empowerment: Educating the workforce about AI fosters a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. It prepares employees to leverage AI tools to enhance productivity and reduce the time spent on manual tasks, leading to improved job satisfaction.
Ethical and Fair AI Implementation: Understanding AI bias and the importance of transparency helps in developing and deploying AI systems that are fair, ethical and accountable. This is crucial for maintaining public trust and regulatory compliance.

Integrating Secure AI Use Training

Incorporating training on the secure use of AI into workforce development will help you improve overall cybersecurity. Here are three use cases to consider:

Data Security: AI systems handle vast amounts of data, making them targets for cyberattacks. Training employees on data security practices can help ensure the protection of sensitive information.
Password Security: Strong password practices are fundamental in safeguarding AI systems from unauthorized access.
Phishing Awareness: Educating employees about phishing threats helps prevent attacks that could compromise AI systems and data integrity.

Understanding these interconnected aspects of AI literacy equips the workforce to use AI responsibly and securely, fostering a safer digital environment.

Course Overview

Our AI Literacy and Awareness course covers a comprehensive range of topics to provide a solid foundation in AI.

Topics	Learning Objectives
Introduction to AI	What Is AI?: Learn the basics of AI, including its definition and historical evolution. Why AI Literacy is Important: Understand the critical importance of AI literacy in today’s business environment.
Understanding AI	How AI Differs from Traditional Computing: Explore the fundamental differences between AI and traditional computing. How AI Works: Gain insights into the iterative process of developing AI models.
AI Terminology	Key AI Terms: Improve understanding of essential AI terms such as machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), natural language processing (NLP), generative AI (GenAI), computer vision (CV) and predictive AI.
Debunking AI Myths	Common AI Myths: Address misconceptions about AI, such as AI’s supposed infallibility and ability to think like humans or replace all human jobs.
AI Security Risks	Cybersecurity Risks: Learn about the potential cybersecurity risks associated with AI and how to mitigate them. Data Security Risks: Understand the importance of protecting sensitive data in AI systems.
AI Bias and Transparency	Types of AI Bias: Discover different types of AI bias, including data bias, algorithmic bias and human bias. Mitigating AI Bias: Explore strategies to address and mitigate bias in AI systems. Challenges and Best Practices for AI Transparency: Learn about the challenges of AI transparency and best practices for ensuring it.
Emerging AI Trends	Generative AI: Discover the potential of AI to create new content across various media. Multimodal AI: Understand how integrating text, audio and visual data enhances AI applications. Edge Computing: Learn about bringing AI capabilities closer to the data source. Open-Source AI Models: Explore the democratization of AI technologies through open-source models. Explainable AI and Small AI Models: Gain insights into explainable AI and the benefits of smaller, specialized AI models. Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG): Discover how combining information retrieval with generative capabilities enhances AI accuracy. Autonomous Agents and Tool Use: Learn about the future potential of AI in automating complex tasks.
Machine Learning Deep Dive	Basics and Types of Machine Learning: Get an in-depth look at supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised and reinforcement learning. Data Preparation: Understand the importance of data preparation in creating accurate AI models.

Enhancing AI literacy and AI awareness ultimately empowers leaders and the collective workforce. Understanding AI implications on security is essential for staying competitive and safeguarding business.

Launch the free Optiv course on AI Literacy and Awareness.