Artificial intelligence is now part of everyday life, but many people still feel unsure how to use it well. This practical workshop cuts through the hype and shows you how tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can help with planning, writing, creativity and daily problem-solving.
You’ll also learn how to use AI more safely and critically, including recognising deepfakes, spotting scams and understanding some of the ethical and environmental questions around these tools. Bring your own laptop or tablet and leave with practical skills you can use straight away.
Face to face
The 2026 AI Landscape
- Transitioning from simple search engines to "Agentic" digital partners like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Context Engineering Workshop
- A hands-on guide to "The Art of the Ask"—learning how to prompt AI for professional-grade writing and research.
AI for Productivity
- Using tools to summarize long documents, manage complex schedules, and automate daily life logistics.
The Creative Revolution
- Exploring image and video generation (DALL-E, Midjourney) for personal hobbies and social media.
Safety & Security
- Critical skills to identify AI-generated "deepfakes," verify information, and defend against 2026-era scams.
Ethics & The Future
- Understanding the energy costs of AI and the roadmap toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Your AI Toolkit
- A curated takeaway list of the best free, low-code tools for continued learning.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Navigate the 2026 AI Ecosystem: Confidently distinguish between leading digital assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to choose the right tool for specific personal or professional tasks.
- Master "Context Engineering": Move beyond basic searches to craft sophisticated prompts that yield high-quality text, research, and creative outputs.
- Enhance Daily Productivity: Use AI agents to summarize long documents, plan complex travel itineraries, and automate routine digital organization.
- Unlock Personal Creativity: Utilize generative tools like DALL-E and Midjourney to create custom images and explore new forms of digital expression.
- Identify AI Risks and Scams: Apply the "SIFT" framework to detect AI-generated deepfakes, verify "hallucinated" information, and defend against modern digital fraud.
- Understand AI Ethics and Sustainability: Discuss the environmental "power cost" of AI and the societal implications of the journey toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
- Implement a Personal AI Toolkit: Use a curated list of free, low-code resources to continue exploring AI independently after the course.
No prior AI experience is necessary. Students should have basic experience using a web browser. Please bring your own Laptop or Tablet (fully charged). We will use free versions of AI tools; no paid subscriptions are required for this course.
