Crash Course Overview
Using generative AI today is like driving a car in a world where most people bike, or navigating with GPS while everyone else uses a paper map. The productivity gains are enormous—you’ll move faster, cover more ground with less effort, and save valuable time. However, similar to cars and GPS, AI tools aren’t perfect. They occasionally misfire, glitch, or lead you slightly off course. Yet these imperfections haven’t stopped people from using cars or GPS, and they shouldn’t deter you from exploring AI either. The reality is clear: AI is the world’s newest disruptive technology, and it’s here to stay. People who learn to harness its power will outpace their peers and gain a significant edge in work and life. Those who resist change and cling to old methods will find it increasingly difficult to keep up as the world accelerates around them.
The purpose of this free crash course is to teach you how to use AI to boost your productivity in your career and personal life. It’s for everyone – those who have never used AI, those who have experimented with it a few times, and even for people who have already worked AI into their daily routine. We’ll also tackle all the major concerns with AI: doesn’t it frequently get things wrong (i.e hallucinate)? Can I trust it with my information? Will it take my job? After finishing this course, you’ll have a stronger grasp of AI than almost all of your peers and will be ready to turn AI from a buzzword into your competitive edge.
Below is a list of all the topics we’ll cover in this crash course. Clicking on a topic will bring you right to that section.
You’ll get the most out of this course if you follow along with an AI tool. Feel free to choose any AI tool you’d like, but I’d recommend ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude for those new to AI. Options vary about which one is best, but my experience is that each of these AI tools works great for >90% of use cases. So don’t let decision paralysis prevent you from getting started. You can create free accounts on chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com/app, claude.ai or download the smartphone apps in less than 5 minutes. Upgrading to paid subscriptions unlocks a handful of unique features which are beyond the scope of this crash course, but I wouldn’t worry about that for now. As we progress through the course, do your best to copy and paste some of my prompts (feel free to tweak them!) into your preferred AI tool to get a feel for its responses.