Artificial Intelligence

This six-week, hands-on course builds on foundational artificial intelligence (AI) knowledge and focuses on the practical application of modern artificial intelligence in real-world contexts. Students learn how generative AI systems work, how to design effective prompts and workflows, and how to apply AI tools responsibly to automate tasks, analyze data, and support decision-making.

Through guided projects and applied exercises, learners progress from prompt engineering and document-based automation to using ChatGPT Advanced Data Analysis, writing simple Python scripts, and prototyping basic AI agents and custom GPTs. Key system patterns—such as tool use, retrieval-augmented generation, and agentic workflows—are introduced in accessible, non-mathematical ways, with an emphasis on when and why to use them.

Responsible AI use is a core theme throughout the course. Students critically examine issues such as data privacy, bias, environmental impact, and the limits of automation, emphasizing the importance of human judgment and local data control. Indigenous perspectives are integrated across the curriculum, exploring how Indigenous artists, communities, and organizations engage with AI, and how Indigenous ways of knowing inform values-based, ethical approaches to emerging technologies.