This repository contains the materials for D-Lab's Getting Started with AI Workshop.
No pre-requisites for this workshop!
Check out D-Lab’s Workshop Catalog to browse all workshops, see what’s running now, and review prerequisites.
This introductory workshop will give an overview of today's AI landscape assuming no experience whatsoever, focusing on hands-on demos and practical examples. You will learn what AI assistants are and how to interact effectively with the major platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. We'll explore creative AI tools for image and video generation, review specialized AI applications for everyday tasks, and help you develop a framework for choosing the right tools for your specific needs.
After completing this workshop, you will be able to:
- Understand and interact with major AI assistants including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity, recognizing their strengths and use cases for writing, research, and problem-solving.
- Generate images using AI tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, and NanoBanana by writing effective prompts, understanding the basics of image generation, and selecting the appropriate tool for your creative needs.
- Apply specialized AI tools to streamline daily tasks, including Grammarly for writing improvement, NotebookLM for notetake, Notion AI for workspace enhancement, Otter.ai for meeting transcription, and office suite integrations like Microsoft Copilot and Google Duet.
- Evaluate and choose appropriate AI tools based on your specific needs, budget constraints, privacy requirements, and existing technology ecosystem, understanding the differences between free and paid tiers.
- Write effective prompts and iterate on AI responses using best practices for specificity, context, and refinement to achieve better results from any AI platform.
- Navigate AI tools safely and responsibly, understanding privacy considerations, data retention policies, and how to verify AI-generated information for accuracy.
No installation required!
D-Lab works with Berkeley faculty, research staff, and students to advance data-intensive social science and humanities research. Our goal at D-Lab is to provide practical training, staff support, resources, and space to enable you to use R for your own research applications. Our services cater to all skill levels and no programming, statistical, or computer science backgrounds are necessary. We offer these services in the form of workshops, one-to-one consulting, and working groups that cover a variety of research topics, digital tools, and programming languages.
Visit the D-Lab homepage to learn more about us. You can view our calendar for upcoming events, learn about how to utilize our consulting and data services, and check out upcoming workshops. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on D-Lab events, services, and opportunities.
- Bruno Cittolin Smaniotto
- Tom van Nuenen