Indiana University announced that its GenAI 101 course has attracted 114,000 learners worldwide after opening free access in April 2026. The move followed an initial August 2025 launch that limited enrollment to students, faculty and staff and later expanded to alumni.
The eight‑module program, designed by Professor Brian Williams of the Kelley School of Business, blends prompt engineering, data storytelling and fact‑checking lessons into 16 bite‑size tutorials. Williams said the curriculum “aims to demystify AI for people who aren’t tech specialists.”
A key feature is Crimson, a conversational AI assistant that answers questions in real time and demonstrates how to interrogate outputs. Students report that interacting with Crimson “makes the abstract concepts feel tangible.”
Feedback from early participants—ranging from first‑year students to executives at Fortune 500 firms—has been overwhelmingly positive. In October, the university announced it would open the course to 800,000 alumni worldwide, a move that could double its reach.
The expansion reflects growing demand for AI literacy outside academia. “We’re giving people the tools to keep up with the industry’s rapid changes,” Williams told Indiana Public Media.
Looking ahead, the Kelley School plans to add new modules on responsible AI use and will track learning outcomes through a cohort study that began in August. The next cohort will start in June 2027.