AI Fundamentals – Level 1 is a 2-day, practical introduction to modern AI, focused on how it works and how to use it effectively in business and government settings. Participants learn core concepts, explore leading tools, and develop hands-on skills for tasks like writing, research, and communication.
The course also emphasizes responsible use, including privacy, data protection, and government policy considerations. By the end, participants can confidently apply AI in their daily workflows to improve efficiency while managing risks.
Course Outline
What is AI?
- How AI models are built: pattern recognition, training data, and prediction
- The difference between generative AI, machine learning, and traditional software
- A brief history: from search engines to large language models
- Understanding what AI is good at—and where it breaks down
- Live demonstration: how a prompt becomes a response
Safe Use of AI in Government
- Government of Canada AI policy and the Directive on Automated Decision-Making
- Data classification: what you can and cannot share with AI tools
- Privacy, confidentiality, and Protected B considerations
- Recognizing hallucinations and verifying AI output
- Accountability: who owns AI-generated work
Prompting Techniques
- Why vague prompts produce vague results
- The CLEAR framework: Context, Language, Examples, Audience, Requirements
- Structuring prompts with roles, constraints, and output formats
- Using voice memos and dictation as a prompting strategy
- Multi-AI strategies: when and why to use more than one tool
- Hands-on exercise: rewriting a bad prompt into a great one
Image Generation
- How image generation models work (diffusion, text-to-image)
- Tools overview: DALL-E, Midjourney, Copilot Image Creator
- Writing effective image prompts: style, subject, composition, mood
- Practical applications: presentations, reports, internal communications
- Limitations and ethical considerations (bias, deepfakes, copyright)
- Hands-on exercise: generate a set of visuals for a real project
AI Workflow Integration
- Moving AI from a novelty to a daily tool
- Identifying repetitive tasks that AI can accelerate
- Building personal AI workflows: research, drafting, summarizing, reviewing
- Email and communication shortcuts with AI
- File organization and meeting preparation with AI assistance
- Hands-on exercise: map your current workflow and insert AI at three points