I was 9 years old in 1969.
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, held from August 15-18, 1969, in Bethel, New York, was originally planned as a ticketed event organized by Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, Joel Rosenman, and John P. Roberts under Woodstock Ventures. Advance tickets were sold for $18 for the three days (equivalent to about $150 today), with gate prices set at $24, and promoters anticipated around 50,000 to 200,000 attendees based on initial sales of over 186,000 tickets.
However, far more people—estimated at over 400,000—flocked to the site, overwhelming preparations. Construction delays meant fences and ticket booths weren't fully completed in time, and as crowds swelled, many simply bypassed or tore down the barriers (including cutting through fences with bolt cutters). Organizers faced a chaotic situation: traffic jams blocked roads for miles, supplies ran low, and attempting to enforce ticketing could have led to riots or stampedes.
To prioritize safety and avoid escalating dangers, the promoters made the on-site decision to declare Woodstock a free concert early in the event, stopping ticket checks altogether. This shift allowed focus on logistics like food, medical aid, and crowd management amid rain, mud, and shortages. While it cemented Woodstock's legacy as a symbol of peace and counterculture, the organizers lost millions (initially $1.3 million in debt, later recouped somewhat through film and album rights).
Now let's do AI.
Democratizing Access and Reducing Barriers: Many providers are removing financial and prerequisite hurdles to make AI education available to anyone, shifting the focus from elite access to widespread skill-building. For instance, top universities like Stanford and Harvard have released full AI curricula online without tuition, emphasizing that the real value lies in discipline and execution rather than gated knowledge. This aligns with efforts to bridge the AI knowledge gap, as seen in Google's free offerings that anyone can start without fees.
Upskilling the Global Workforce: Companies are investing heavily in free training to prepare people for AI-driven jobs, often as part of multi-year commitments. Amazon's "AI Ready" program aims to train 2 million people by 2025, while Salesforce is providing hands-on AI courses through 2025 as a $50 million investment in future employment. Similarly, Google's no-cost programs, including partnerships with universities like the University of Michigan, target students and professionals to boost resumes and career opportunities.
Promoting Adoption and Innovation: Tech firms like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are offering free courses on topics like prompt engineering, generative AI, and LLMs to encourage broader use of their tools and ecosystems. This includes quick, practical modules (some as short as 15-45 minutes) that come with badges or certificates, helping users level up in AI productivity without cost. Initiatives like OpenAI's AI Academy further support beginners by covering essentials like reasoning with models and data analysis.
Competitive Landscape and Rapid AI Evolution: With AI booming since the rise of tools like ChatGPT, providers are competing to attract talent and foster innovation. Institutions recognize that degrees aren't the scarce resource anymore—skills and speed are—so they're publishing high-quality content freely, as evidenced by Stanford's release of advanced courses on transformers, computer vision, and more. This trend has accelerated in 2025, with Google alone making extensive curricula (valued at $60K) available at no charge.
These efforts reflect a shift where AI education is seen as a public good, often time-limited or tied to platforms like Coursera, YouTube, or proprietary sites, to accelerate global adoption and address talent shortages.
AI education seems to be 'a free concert' now. For everyone in the world.
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