Free course

AI Fundamentals Course

Understand models, prompts, context, agents, tools, verification, and the safety habits you need to use AI well.

6 modules · 31 lessons · No signup

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What you'll learn

Complete a small AI-assisted coding task with useful context, clear constraints, verification, and a practical safety review.

Course contents

  1. Understand AI models

    Build a useful mental model of generation, tokens, capabilities, and limits.

    1. ✓ What AI is useful for
    2. ✓ What a language model does
    3. ✓ Tokens and the context window
    4. ✓ Capabilities and limits
    5. ✓ AI glossary
    6. ✓ Check your understanding: AI models

  2. Choose and access a model

    Compare models by task, speed, cost, access method, and privacy needs.

    1. ✓ Compare models by the task
    2. ✓ Model names will change
    3. ✓ Subscription or API key
    4. ✓ Cloud or local models
    5. ✓ Check your understanding: choosing a model

  3. Prompts, rules, and context

    Give AI a clear task, durable instructions, and only the context it needs.

    1. ✓ Prompts, rules, and context
    2. ✓ Write a useful prompt
    3. ✓ Use project rules
    4. ✓ Curate the context
    5. ✓ Check your understanding: prompts and context

  4. Agents and tools

    Understand the agent loop, tool calls, permissions, skills, and MCP.

    1. ✓ Chatbots and agents
    2. ✓ The agent loop
    3. ✓ Tools and permissions
    4. ✓ Skills and MCP
    5. ✓ Check your understanding: agents and tools

  5. Verify the work

    Work in small steps and use inspection, tests, and evidence as feedback.

    1. ✓ Work in small steps
    2. ✓ Inspect before changing
    3. ✓ Use tests as feedback
    4. ✓ Verify the result
    5. ✓ Check your understanding: verification

  6. Use AI safely

    Handle uncertainty, private data, secrets, permissions, and generated code responsibly.

    1. ✓ Hallucinations and uncertainty
    2. ✓ Protect data and secrets
    3. ✓ Review generated code for security
    4. ✓ Complete your first AI workflow
    5. ✓ Check your understanding: safe AI use