Free course
Working With AI
Go from outside the tools to building real things with AI, calmly and without the hype.
I am an AI engineer, and this is a plain-English course for people who are not technical. We set up the tools, learn the handful of habits that keep you safe, and build real projects together. No coding experience needed, just judgment, which you already have. New lesson regularly. Best watched in order, top to bottom.
Lessons
Watch the whole week in one sittingThe full course, start to finish
Lesson 1
The promise
Why judgment matters more than coding, and what this course actually gets you.
Lesson 2
Hype versus calm
The calm way in, from someone who has worked in AI for five years.
Lesson 6
What we are building
A home base for the things you juggle that no single app holds together.
Lesson 9
The safety habit
Ask before big changes, explain in plain words, keep it simple.
Lesson 10
Prompting is clear thinking
A good prompt is what you want, one limit, and what done looks like.
Lesson 11
What made that a good prompt
The three parts of a prompt that works.
Lesson 12
Prompting is a conversation
If an answer is full of jargon, ask for it again in plain English.
Lesson 13
Two moves that help
Have it ask you questions, and show it an example instead of describing one.
Lesson 14
Two ways to start
Know what you want and ask for a plan, or think out loud until it takes shape.
Lesson 15
Sharpen the idea
The best first use of AI is getting the idea sharp, not building.
Help me figure out what my personal dashboard should hold.
Ask me about:
- what I want to stay on top of day to day, in my work or my life: goals, habits, clients, follow-ups, projects, plans;
- what I keep forgetting or losing track of;
- what I would love to build someday, so we can start a running list of ideas.
After I answer, suggest a few simple panels my dashboard could start with, and jot any project ideas into a list for later. Do not write files yet.
Lesson 16
Plan before files
Ask what it intends to do, read it, then let it start.
/plan
I am starting a new project folder for a Working With AI course. It will be my personal dashboard, a home base just for me, for the things I juggle in my work or my life that no single app keeps together, and I'll grow it over the course.
Please create simple setup files:
- README.md with plain-English notes about what this folder is for;
- AGENTS.md with beginner-friendly instructions for how you should work with me;
- index.html, a simple starter page that greets me by name and shows today's date, kept plain and calm.
In AGENTS.md, include two habits. First, after meaningful progress, automatically create or update logs/project_log.md with short plain-English entries: decisions and why, ideas I want to revisit, and lessons or blockers, not just what changed. Second, whenever I ask you to save or make a save point, commit the changes with a short clear message and push to GitHub for me. I do not want to maintain the log or run git commands manually unless I ask.
One more preference for AGENTS.md: for now, when I want to see a page I'll open the file in my browser myself, so don't start a preview or development server unless I ask.
Keep the files short. Before creating them, briefly tell me what you plan to include and ask if I want to adjust anything.
Lesson 17
Plan mode
Make the AI show its plan before it touches a single file.
Lesson 20
Ask what changed
The habit that keeps you in control of everything the AI does.
Before we make a GitHub save point, please summarize what changed in plain English.
Tell me:
- what files exist now;
- what each file is for;
- what I should check;
- what might still be unclear;
- a good GitHub save point message.
Do not make more changes yet.
Lesson 22
See it running
Opening the page you built in your own browser.
Watch the whole thing