AI Demystified: What It Actually Is and Isn't

A jargon-free introduction that cuts through the hype to explain how AI really works, what it can and can't do, and why it matters to everyone right now.

About This Course

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in the news, but most of what you hear is either overhyped or oversimplified. This course fixes that.

In three hands-on sessions, you will build a clear, accurate understanding of what AI actually is, how it works at a conceptual level, and why it matters to your life and work. No technical background required — just curiosity.

You will use real AI tools during every session. You will learn to spot AI in your daily life, understand its limitations, and develop the critical thinking skills that separate informed users from everyone else.

By the end of this course, you won't just understand AI — you will have used it, tested it, broken it, and built your own plan for how to use it going forward.

Who This Course Is For

Anyone curious about AI who wants facts instead of hype
Adults who use technology daily but want to understand what is happening behind the scenes
High school students exploring technology and future careers
Professionals who need baseline AI literacy for their work

What Makes This Course Different

This is not a lecture series. Every session includes hands-on activities where you actually use AI tools, test their limits, and apply them to real tasks from your own life. You will leave each session with practical skills, not just abstract knowledge.

What You'll Learn

Explain what AI is and is not in accurate, jargon-free language
Describe how large language models work at a conceptual level including training data, pattern recognition, and prediction
Identify AI systems you already interact with in daily life
Recognize common AI failure modes including hallucinations, bias, and confident errors
Use ChatGPT, Claude, and other major AI tools for practical tasks
Write effective prompts that get significantly better results
Critically evaluate AI outputs rather than accepting them at face value
Apply AI to at least one real task from your own work or personal life
Develop a personal action plan for continued AI learning and use

Session Breakdown

Session 1: What Is AI, Really?

Icebreaker: What have you heard about AI that you are not sure is true?
The real history of AI — from Turing to today, hitting the interesting beats
Core concept: AI is pattern recognition at scale, not thinking
Narrow AI vs. General AI — what exists vs. what does not
Hands-on activity: AI or Not AI? — vote on 12 real-world scenarios
How AI actually learns — the toddler and 10,000 cat pictures analogy
How ChatGPT-style models work — predicting the next word at massive scale
Hands-on activity: Your First AI Conversation — three structured prompts including a hallucination test

Session 2: How AI Shows Up in the Real World

Homework share: Who tried using AI this week? What happened?
AI is already everywhere: healthcare, finance, retail, transportation, your phone
Group activity: AI Audit of Your Life — map every AI interaction from the last 24 hours
The limitations and failure modes: hallucinations, bias, confident errors
Real-world bias examples: hiring algorithms, facial recognition disparities
Deepfakes and synthetic media — what you need to know
Hands-on activity: Break the AI — challenge cards to deliberately expose AI weaknesses

Session 3: Now What? Your AI Action Plan

Tool share: what AI tools did participants discover?
Quick demos: image generation, transcription, document analysis, writing assistants
The AI landscape — a practical map of tool categories and when to use each
Hands-on workshop: Prompt Engineering — transform bad prompts into great ones
Four principles: be specific, give context, provide examples, iterate and refine
Hands-on activity: Solve a Real Problem — apply AI to a task from your own life
Group discussion: What will you use AI for? What still concerns you?
Resource sheet handout and next steps

Prerequisites

None — just curiosity and willingness to learn

What to Bring

A laptop or tablet with internet access. Please create free accounts on chat.openai.com and claude.ai before the first session. A phone works in a pinch but a larger screen is strongly recommended.

$129

per person

No sessions currently scheduled

Bundle Discount

Save up to 30% when enrolling in multiple courses. Use code TRACK_30 for the full track.