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Start Here
Start from zero: what AI engineers actually do, how AI, machine learning, deep learning and generative AI fit together, and what a model really is. Learn the thirty words everyone uses by following one customer question through a real system, then plan your six months and set up your laptop for the work ahead.
By the end of this module you can
- explain what an AI engineer does and how the job differs from ML research and data science
- place any AI product in the right circle: rules, machine learning, deep learning or generative AI
- explain models, parameters, training and inference using a worked example
- follow a question through an AI system and name every part, from API and RAG to tokens, tools and evals
- plan a sustainable study rhythm and get yourself unstuck
- run Python 3.12 with uv, keep API keys safe in a .env file, and make your first model call
Lessons
6 in this module- 01What an AI engineer actually doesExplain what an AI engineer builds, why the model is only one box in the system, and what you will be able to build by the end of this six-month course.
- 02AI, machine learning, deep learning and generative AITell apart AI, machine learning, deep learning and generative AI, see where each one fails, and choose the simplest one that solves a real problem.
- 03What is a model? Training vs inference in plain wordsExplain a model as a function with learned knobs, train a two-parameter model by hand and in Python, and say why inference never changes those knobs.
- 04The 30 words you will hear everywhereFollow one customer question from keyboard to answer and name every stop on the way, so you can place about thirty core AI words and know which module teaches each.
- 05How to learn with this courseUse the tracker, quizzes, milestones and glossary well, plan a steady 8 to 10 hour week for six months, and follow a routine for getting unstuck.
- 06Set up your workshopInstall uv, Python 3.12, git and VS Code, create a project, store an API key safely with a spending limit, and make your first model call.