AI Essentials

Lesson 1: What is AI & Why It Matters Now

Demystify artificial intelligence: what it actually is, how it differs from search engines, and why the current generation of AI tools represents a genuine shift in how we work. Covers key concepts like large language models, generative AI, and the difference between predictive, generative, and agentic AI.

Lesson 2: Prompt Engineering Fundamentals

Learn the art and science of communicating effectively with AI. Explore three proven frameworks — COSTAR, TIDD-EC, and CRAFT — and practice writing prompts that get consistently strong results. Also covers how the model actually processes your input: tokens, context windows, and chat hygiene. Includes hands-on exercises with real work scenarios.

Lesson 3: AI Tools Landscape

Build a meta-prompt that writes your prompts for you, then learn to evaluate any AI tool through three axes: native habitat, thinking style, and data flow. Covers the four generalist tools — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot — with a focus on going deep rather than skimming wide, plus a map of specialty tools for the gaps generalists don’t cover.

Lesson 4: AI for Productivity

Move from one-off AI questions to repeatable workflows you can run every week. Learn five named patterns — content creation, data analysis, research, brainstorming, and decision support — each with a step-by-step chain you can adapt to your own role. Closes with a bridge to agentic AI for teams ready to go further.

Lesson 5: Responsible AI & Next Steps

Tackle the four risks every AI user needs to manage — hallucinations, bias, privacy, and intellectual property — and learn a 30-second judgement check to decide how much to trust any given output. Build a personal 30-day AI action plan and brainstorm opportunities within your team.