The Fundamentals of Generative AI
What this course is
Generative AI writes, draws, summarizes and drafts. This course explains how it does that in plain terms, and then teaches you to direct it with intent. You’ll move past one-line requests to prompts you construct deliberately, test against a goal, critique, and refine until the output is something you’d put your name on.
You’ll also take the ethics seriously. Every generative system carries the biases of its data and raises real questions about privacy and consent. You’ll learn to see those issues before they become problems, and to explain them to the people you work with.
Catalog description
Theoretical knowledge and practical generative-AI skills. Students analyze and apply core AI concepts and techniques; develop advanced prompt-engineering skills (construct, innovate, critique and refine prompts); and evaluate ethical and societal implications, including bias and data privacy.
- Analyze and apply core AI concepts and techniques.
- Develop advanced prompt-engineering skills: construct, innovate, critique and refine prompts.
- Evaluate ethical and societal implications of generative AI, including bias and data privacy.
What you'll build
- 1A prompt library for a real workflowA set of prompts you constructed, tested, critiqued and refined, documented so a colleague could reuse them.
- 2A generated deliverable and its critiqueProduce a text or visual artifact with a generative tool, then evaluate it honestly: what worked, what didn't, and why.
- 3A bias and privacy briefA short analysis of one generative tool's ethical and societal risks, with concrete recommendations for responsible use.
Tools you'll use
No-code and low-code tools. The exact list is set by the instructor each term.