Your Path to Productivity, Creativity, and Future-Readiness
Unlock the potential of AI in your life and work with hands-on learning, practical insights, and expert guidance. Join a supportive community of others exploring this exciting new technology.
AI is transforming personal and professional life, but getting started can be overwhelming. In our AI Fundamentals workshop, you’ll find a welcoming, interactive experience designed for professionals ready to explore AI's potential. Our expert instructors, with broad experience in business and AI, will guide you through practical applications using accessible tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, you’ll leave equipped with the skills to enhance productivity, creativity, and adaptability—now and in the future.
What Makes This Workshop Different?
We focus on what truly matters: personal connection and deep, hands-on learning. Our small, intimate workshop gives you access to expert guidance and personalized feedback that larger classes and video tutorials can't provide.
This isn’t a lecture or presentation; it’s a collaborative session led by experienced AI experts and educators who bring expertise with thousands of individuals in using AI for creative and productivity uses in personal and professional settings.
The workshop is structured in three live sessions, with engagement "homework" to reinforce what we do in the workshop.
Bring Your Curiosity
We’ve designed this session to be fun, interactive, and immediately impactful. Whether you’re looking to use AI to streamline tasks, improve productivity, or unlock new creative potential, this workshop is crafted to give you the tools to succeed. Here’s why it’s a must:
Personalized Learning: Unlike large classes, this workshop is crafted around your specific needs.
Practical Tools: Hands-on experience with AI tools that you’ll be able to use immediately.
Expert Guidance: Learn from instructors who’ve implemented AI at the highest levels.
Workshop Structure
Session 1: AI Essentials and Inspiration
90-minute Zoom workshop
You'll be introduced to the most popular AI tools, like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and others. You'll learn why they're popular and how to get started with them.
We'll explore productivity gains, spark creativity, and solve problems across personal and professional domains. You'll learn the fundamentals of prompting, which will ensure you're productive when you leave the first session.
We'll also review the potential risks that come with AI to ensure a safe and enjoyable entry into the world of AI.
Homework: Developing the habits
Between the sessions, you'll experiment with AI to summarize information, create visuals from text, plan an event, automate tasks, and explore new ideas. Each exercise builds your skills step by step, giving you the confidence to incorporate AI into your everyday routine.
Session 2: AI Applications
90 minute Zoom workshop
We’ll take an expansive look at how AI can support you across all areas of your life. We’ll show you how AI can do much more than just handle tasks—it can act as clerk, colleague, and coach. Examples and exercises will demonstrate using AI to support you in a variety of personal and professional situations:
Planning and managing complex events (from sales conferences and executive visits to family vacations and weddings)
Supporting growth and development (from employee development plans to care plans for aging parents)
Enhancing communication and relationship-building (from annual 1:1 reviews to connecting better with your child’s soccer team)
Leading and coordinating teams (from managing a work project team to organizing community or volunteer groups)
Improving personal organization and productivity (from your to-do list at the office to streamlining household schedules and routines)
Navigating decision-making and problem-solving (from strategic business choices to planning a major life event like a move or career change)
We also make time to focus on your specific questions so that you feel ready to use AI confidently and effectively.
Homework: Custom project
You'll design a custom homework project based on your interests and objectives, and share your experience with the cohort before the third session.
Session 3: Making It Your Own
90 minute Zoom workshop
We'll debrief the custom homework projects and share lessons learned. We’ll introduce a new set of AI tools, tailored to different goals and interests, and guide you in hands-on experimentation to find what best suits your needs. Together, we’ll delve into the ‘AI mindset,’ a practical approach to leveraging AI as a reliable partner in solving challenges, boosting creativity, and enhancing productivity.
By the end of this session, you’ll have a personalized AI toolkit—complete with practical tools, key strategies, and techniques you can apply immediately. You’ll also walk away with a roadmap for ongoing skill-building, so you can continue adapting and expanding your AI capabilities to meet new challenges and opportunities in your personal and professional life.
Homework: Continue your AI journey
Now it's up to you! Follow the plan that you've developed to continue your AI journey, and enjoy the benefits of having an always-available, tireless, mostly-reliable assistant to help you throughout your day.
Instructors
Matt Strain
With over three decades of experience in technology and innovation, Matt Strain has been at the forefront of using AI to drive productivity and creativity. As the former Director of Strategy and Innovation at Adobe Research, Matt led initiatives that brought AI innovations from the lab to the market. Now, as the founder of The Prompt, he advises financial institutions, HR associations, writers & readers, and non-profits on real-world AI applications.
Known for his engaging teaching style, Matt is dedicated to highlighting the positive, empowering ways that we can leverage AI today.
Ask Matt about how his creative explorations with AI + mixology + Chinese medicine landed him in the New York Times.
Doug Nelson
Doug is an enthusiastic educator, facilitator, techie, and gamer, and brings over two decades of experience designing hands-on, experiential learning programs. He and Matt met while working at Apple in Hong Kong, and they've been friends and collaborators since.
Doug has designed learning games and simulations for government and defense (DARPA), corporations (Cisco), and nonprofit organizations (Ford Foundation). His approachable and practical teaching style focuses on supporting learners as they experiment, play, and apply new tools.
Ask Doug about how he's using AI to help travelers learn to order confidently at a cafe in French, Japanese, Italian, Thai, and Spanish.
Sandra, Parent
I learned so much about how to use AI tools to enrich activities with my kids.
Tyrone, Actor
I'm doing better in my auditions after learning how to practice with AI!
Alfredo, Manager
Let me be clear... it's hard to overstate how valuable the Fundamentals course has been for me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any technical background to participate?
No, this session is designed for beginners, and if you can use a phone or computer, you'll be able to engage with the AI tools.
What specific AI tools will we be learning about?
We’ll cover popular "foundational" tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, focusing on practical applications for both personal and professional tasks. We'll also play with specialized AI tools for creativity, productivity, and entertainment. The specialized tools we cover change over time as new tools are introduced.
How hands-on will the workshop be, and will I have opportunities to practice with the tools?
The class is highly interactive, giving you plenty of opportunities to practice with AI tools in real time and get feedback on how you're using them.
What kind of real-world applications will be covered in the workshop?
You'll explore applications ranging from task management and writing assistance to brainstorming and problem-solving, tailored to your specific needs.
Will I leave the series with something tangible, like an action plan or resources?
You’ll leave with a personalized AI toolkit, a set of prompts, and a clear plan for integrating AI into your daily life.
What’s the maximum number of participants in each session?
The class is limited 12 participants to ensure personalized attention and small group exercises.
Is the workshop suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners?
The course is designed for beginners, but those with some AI experience will benefit from exploring some of the advanced prompting techniques. If we have participants of varying ability we will group the breakouts together based on experience.
Will there be follow-up support or resources after the workshop?
While the course doesn't include ongoing support, you’ll leave with resources and a plan to continue exploring AI on your own. We also hold intermediate and advanced workshops so that you can continue to explore new tools and approaches.
How long will I need to dedicate after the workshop to master the tools and techniques?
For the week after the course, we suggest you intentionally focus on how to integrate AI into your daily life. After a few days, this will feel natural and, before you know it, will be become second nature.
How does the class address the ethical implications of AI use?
We touch on ethical considerations, especially as they relate to responsible AI use in personal and professional contexts. We will also touch issues of privacy, data, copyright, and attribution.
Will my company reimburse me for the course?
Your company benefits when you get smarter – but employee development stipends are a hidden benefit at many organizations. Ask your boss or People team if upskilling is an expense they cover. Here's a suggestion for an email you could send to your manager.
Tell Me When the Next Workshop Is!
Fill out this form and we'll let you know when we've scheduled our next small group workshop.