AI Fundamentals — Everyday AI
Course overview
You've heard about ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Claude. Maybe you've tried one. Maybe a grandchild set it up for you, or your boss told you to "use AI" with no instructions. This workshop gives you four things in four sessions:
- Understand what AI is and how it comes up with answers.
- Use it with prompts that actually work.
- Protect your private information and check what AI gets wrong.
- Create something useful you'll keep using.
No coding. No jargon you won't get a translation for. Bring a phone, tablet or laptop.
Learning outcomes
- Explain in your own words how a chatbot produces an answer and why it can be confidently wrong.
- Write prompts using the R.E.C.I.P.E. method.
- Name five kinds of information you should never paste into an AI tool.
- Fact-check an AI answer in under two minutes.
- Spot AI-powered scams: voice clones, fake videos, fake "AI investment" pitches.
- Build a personal "AI toolkit": three prompts you'll use every week.
Session plan
| Session | Theme | You leave with |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Understand: What AI is and how it answers | Your first conversation with an AI tool + a "what AI is / isn't" card |
| 2 | Use: Prompts that work | The R.E.C.I.P.E. card + 3 saved prompts |
| 3 | Protect: Privacy, accuracy and scams | The "Never paste" list + the 2-minute fact check |
| 4 | Create: Make something useful | A finished project (letter, plan, flyer, budget, study guide) |
Tools we use
Any free general AI assistant works: Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude or Meta AI. Facilitators should check each tool's current age requirements and terms before class; many require users to be 13+ (and some 18+, or 13–17 with parental permission). If a school or agency provides an approved tool, use that.
Session 1 — Understand: what AI is and how it answers
1.1 Warm-up (10 min)
Ask the room: "Where did you already use AI this week without calling it AI?" Collect answers: phone autocorrect, face unlock, Netflix suggestions, spam filters, GPS traffic, bank fraud alerts, smart speakers.
Dope Translation: AI has been in your pocket for years. Autocorrect is AI. "Recommended for you" is AI. The new chatbots are just the version that talks back.
1.2 What AI is
Artificial intelligence is software that learns patterns from lots of examples so it can make predictions or create things — instead of following only rules a person typed in by hand.
| Kind | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Predictive AI | Guesses what's likely | Fraud alert from your bank |
| Recognition AI | Identifies things | Face unlock, voice assistants |
| Generative AI | Creates new text, images, audio, video | Chatbots, image makers |
| Agentic AI | Takes steps and actions for you | An assistant that books an appointment |
1.3 How a chatbot answers
- It learned from enormous amounts of text.
- Your question gets broken into pieces (tokens).
- It predicts, one piece at a time, what words most likely come next.
- It doesn't "look up the truth" unless it's connected to search or documents — it predicts.
Dope Translation: Picture the friend who's been on every group chat in the city for twenty years. Start a sentence and they can finish it — smooth, confident, in your style. But sometimes they're just making it sound right. That's AI. Great at sounding right. Your job is checking if it is right.
1.4 What AI is — and isn't
| AI is | AI isn't |
|---|---|
| Fast at drafting, summarizing, explaining, brainstorming | A person, a friend, or a professional with a license |
| Good with patterns in language | Always correct, current or fair |
| A tool you direct | Responsible for decisions — you are |
1.5 Hands-on (40 min)
- Open your AI tool. Type: "Explain what you are in three sentences, like I'm 12."
- Ask: "What's one thing you're bad at?"
- Ask it something you already know well — your neighborhood, your job, your favorite team's 2023 season. Grade it. Where was it wrong?
- Share one surprising right answer and one wrong answer with your table.
Session 1 check
Watch. Try. Protect.
A free introduction before choosing the full course. These supplementary resources come from Microsoft and the FTC; they are not DCT-produced videos. Features shown may vary by account or subscription.
Give AI a clear task
Watch Microsoft’s introduction to prompts (1 minute 29 seconds) ↗
Try: Turn a made-up list of errands into a checklist. Add a time limit, then check the plan. You can write the prompt on paper first; no AI account is needed for that practice.
Keep your judgment in charge
Watch Microsoft’s responsible generative AI lesson ↗
Check important claims against a trusted source before acting. Use the player’s captions or transcript where available. Pause and replay as needed.
Pause before sharing or paying
Read the FTC’s AI voice-cloning scam guidance ↗
A familiar voice urgently asks for money. What next?
Pause and call the person back using a number you already know. A familiar-sounding voice alone does not establish who is calling.
Should you use a real bank statement to practice prompting?
Use invented information. Keep account numbers, passwords, identity documents and other sensitive information out of beginner exercises.
Confidence check: Name one thing you can try and one thing you will protect. Learning at your own pace counts.
Course questions? Contact DCT learner support. Never email passwords, card details, or identity documents.
Start this complete course online.
$25 one-time through December 31, 2026.
Read the full lessons, watch curated official videos, practice and check your understanding. Sign up once, then continue at your own pace.
Enroll in this course Need fee assistance?
Already enrolled? Continue learning
Exam fees, cloud usage and live instructor-led programs are separate. A DCT completion record is not a vendor certification. If you previously bought a Gumroad starter, your purchase remains in your Gumroad library.