AI Literacy: Understanding the Intelligent World
Understand, use, and talk about AI with confidence. No code, no jargon — just a clear view of how it works.
A foundational course for professionals, entrepreneurs, and curious minds who want to understand, use, and confidently talk about AI. Six modules take you from the vocabulary, through the tools and the craft of using them, to the harder questions of bias, privacy, and what AI means for your work. No coding required.
For professionals, entrepreneurs, and curious minds meeting AI for the first time.
You will be able to
do the work.
- Explain how AI, machine learning, and large language models actually work
- Use AI tools confidently in your daily work
- Critically evaluate AI outputs, bias, and reliability
- Understand data privacy and the real risks of AI
- Prompt AI tools for genuine productivity gains
- Navigate AI's impact on careers and jobs
What we cover.
Prerequisites
- None. Curiosity is the only requirement.
- 01
What is AI, really?
60 minDemystifying the buzzwords
The vocabulary, demystified. What people actually mean by AI, machine learning, and deep learning — and how the field arrived where it is.
- 1.1AI, ML, and deep learning — the real difference
- 1.2A brief history: from chess to ChatGPT
- 1.3Generative AI and the language revolution
- 1.4Concept check: the vocabulary
- 02
How AI thinks (and where it fails)
75 minTraining, patterns, and hallucinations
A working mental model of what happens inside a language model — enough to trust it appropriately and to see its limits coming.
- 2.1Next-token prediction — what a model is really doing
- 2.2Training: where the knowledge comes from
- 2.3Parameters, scale, and the transformer
- 2.4From raw model to assistant — what RLHF does
- 2.5Where AI fails: hallucination, cutoffs, and inconsistency
- 2.6Concept check: how it works
- 03
The AI toolkit: tools you can use today
90 minChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and more
A guided tour of the tools that matter right now — what each is good at, and how to choose between them.
- 3.1The landscape: assistants, and what sets them apart
- 3.2Working with text: ChatGPT and Claude
- 3.3Search, research, and grounded answers
- 3.4Generating and editing images
- 3.5Voice, documents, and everyday workflows
- 3.6Choosing the right tool for the task
- 04
The art of prompting
90 minGetting real results from AI
Prompting as a practical skill — the difference between a vague request and a result you can actually use.
- 4.1What a prompt actually is
- 4.2The anatomy of a good prompt — context, task, format
- 4.3Giving examples, and iterating toward the answer
- 4.4Common failure modes, and how to recover
- 4.5Prompting patterns for real work
- 4.6Practice: a task from start to finish
- 05
AI ethics, privacy, and risk
60 minUsing AI responsibly
The honest conversation about bias, privacy, and risk — and the habits that keep your use of AI responsible.
- 5.1Bias: where it comes from, and how to spot it
- 5.2What never to put into a chatbot — privacy and data
- 5.3Verification as a habit
- 5.4Copyright, attribution, and honest use
- 5.5Concept check: responsible use
- 06
AI and your career
60 minFuture-proofing in an AI world
A clear-eyed look at what AI changes about work — and how to build a practice that stays valuable.
- 6.1What AI changes about work — and what it doesn't
- 6.2Augmentation, not replacement — the realistic view
- 6.3Building an AI-literate practice in your field
- 6.4Staying current without drowning
- 6.5Where to go from here
Reserve a place.
We open enrollment a few weeks before each cohort starts. Tell us about your work — we'll write to you first when a place opens.
Self-paced. Work through it on your own schedule; lessons are released as they're recorded.