Registration is now open for the Winter AI Learning Cohort at Decoded Futures! This program, which targets NYC based education and workforce nonprofits, will run from Feb 4 - March 25, and you can apply to participate here.
Decoded Futures is a new initiative stewarded by Tech:NYC with the support of the Robin Hood Learning + Technology fund that enables NYC based nonprofits to level up on AI. Over the course of several months, we conducted a broad-based research study on the state of AI adoption among nonprofits (which you can read here) and launched several in-person and virtual training sessions, workshops, and office hours for education and workforce nonprofits in New York City.
The 6-session "AI Learning Cohort" (which we piloted this fall) invited nonprofit leaders to gain exposure to both the theoretical and the practical applications of AI.
Each week follows a learning model that incorporates three key elements:
Learn something new
Practice that thing (lots of "laptops out" time)
Discuss it with peers or industry leaders
There's really nothing better than getting the opportunity to build while you learn.
Like a startup accelerator cohort, we encouraged participants to start from a problem or need for their organization that we sought to help augment or streamline with the help of AI. Our hope was that by the conclusion of the initiative, participants would acquire both confidence and technical skills that they could directly apply in their own work going forward.
One of the best early indicators to me of this program's success was seeing the incredible presentations from our Demo Day showcase event in December, where 7 organizations showed off what they had built. (You can see a couple of these videos on the Decoded Futures website here.)
Another one is our early survey data which indicates that nearly 90% of participants intend to keep working on the thing that they built. In other words, they built with intent. And they intend to stick with it.
While not everyone needs to be a developer, I believe it is becoming increasingly important for everyone to at least understand how to think like one. I'm incredibly excited by the possibilities and paradigms for building with technology that AI enables, and this fall proved to me that this technology is more accessible than ever, for anyone willing to put in the time to learn.
If you're an education or workforce leader working at a NYC based nonprofit and are feeling "AI curious," I encourage you to sign up for our second cohort, which kicks off on Feb 4.
