I suppose I can contribute as I am getting into an AI degree.
I think there are several ways to learn AI, and they all have pros and cons. Depending on your situation, your needs and wants, some of them may not even be a good pathway. The pathways are:
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Total free method from going to YouTube, and online communities and forums.
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MOOCs, (e)books
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Boot Camps
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Getting a degree from an academic institution
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Anywhere in between and other methods.
I suppose only you can know what would be the best method to learn the AI as you are the only one who truly understands your needs, wants and condition.
Apart from the pathways, you are going to need math and programming skills.
Math skills: Calculus (up to Multivariate Calculus or more, probably better to get differential equations too), probability and statistics, and linear algebra. You may also benefit from getting discrete math (although I think that discrete math may be more for cybersecurity)
Programming: Basic programming, and data structures
Again, depending on the types of AI skills you are looking for, you may not need all the listed skills, or may need more. However, based on what I have heard, AI is basically running programs to calculate algorithms of linear algebra and calculus. Thus, there probably is not going to be avoiding math.
If you don’t have these skills, I suggest you first try to pick up these skills to build solid foundation to start learning AI.
I hope I was helpful, and good luck with your AI learning! 