Stage 1 — AI Foundations
From complete beginner to confident everyday AI user. A substantial, free 20-lesson foundation in two parts, with hands-on exercises and real projects — no coding required.
20 LESSONS · 2 PARTS SELF-PACED BEGINNER FRIENDLYYou’ll learn to ask better questions, write and plan faster, check answers and protect your information. Bring your curiosity. That’s enough.
What you’ll be able to do
Understand AI
Explain in plain English what conversational AI is — and what it isn’t.
Get useful answers
Turn vague requests into clear instructions and improve the result through conversation.
Use it in real life
Get help with everyday writing, planning, ideas, research and learning.
Keep control
Spot doubtful claims, verify important facts and avoid sharing sensitive information.
Part A — Getting Started
Lessons 1–10 · Build your confidence with clear prompts, everyday uses, verification and safe habits. You can start from zero.
What Is AI, Really?
Understand what AI does and why it gets things wrong.
Start lesson LESSON 02Your First Useful AI Conversation
Start a chat and improve it through follow-ups.
Start lesson LESSON 03How to Write Prompts That Work
Learn a five-part recipe for useful instructions.
Start lesson LESSON 04Make a Good Answer Great
Give feedback and turn rough answers into results.
Start lesson LESSON 05Can You Trust the Answer?
Check sources, dates, claims and uncertainty.
Start lesson LESSON 06Privacy, Safety and Doing the Right Thing
Protect data and use AI responsibly.
Start lesson LESSON 07Writing Better With AI
Draft, rewrite and summarise while keeping your voice.
Start lesson LESSON 08Planning, Lists and Everyday Organisation
Make realistic plans and useful checklists.
Start lesson LESSON 09Learn Faster, Research Smarter, Create More
Learn, research and create more thoughtfully.
Start lesson LESSON 10Build Your First Reliable AI Habit
Build repeatable habits that actually help.
Start lessonPart B — Going Deeper
Lessons 11–20 · Explore the wider AI toolbelt, documents and tables, more demanding prompts, images and voice, research, decisions, workflows and personalisation. Still part of free Stage 1.
Meet the AI Toolbelt
Match AI tools to tasks and tell an answer from a real action.
Start lesson LESSON 12Work With Documents Without Losing the Details
Extract evidence from allowed documents without inventing details.
Start lesson LESSON 13Turn Messy Information Into Useful Tables
Create clean tables and check missing values and calculations.
Start lesson LESSON 14Prompting for Longer, More Complicated Tasks
Plan larger tasks with review points and decision logs.
Start lesson LESSON 15Give AI a Clear Role, Style and Set of Examples
Use instructions, examples and styles without confusing role and expertise.
Start lesson LESSON 16Explore AI With Images and Voice
Explore pictures, speech and image briefs responsibly.
Start lesson LESSON 17Research With AI Without Falling for Made-Up Sources
Trace claims to sources and keep a simple research log.
Start lesson LESSON 18Use AI to Compare Options and Make Better Decisions
Compare options and expose assumptions before deciding.
Start lesson LESSON 19Build a Repeatable AI Workflow
Design safe repeatable processes with a human in control.
Start lesson LESSON 20Personalise Your AI and Prepare for the Next Stage
Create a working brief and understand what AI memory can and cannot do.
Start lessonYour AI Toolkit in Action
Complete a real mini-project with prompts, verified research, safe inputs, a reusable workflow and a ten-point self-assessment.
Begin the final challengeStages 2 and 3
Continue later with Create Your Own AI Companion or Master AI, Agents & Automation. These independent, substantial premium courses are in development.
Part A Checkpoint: Your First Useful AI Workflow
Practise what you learned in the first ten lessons before moving into Part B.
Try the checkpoint FREE RESOURCEPrompt Toolkit & Glossary
Eight reusable prompt templates, a verification checklist and plain-English AI terms.
Open the toolkit✓ Track your 20 lessons — open my progress checklist Saved in this browser; no account required. Open and tick lessons when you’ve completed the practice.
My Stage 1 progress
Tick each lesson after you have read it, tried its exercise and answered the check questions. Your choices are stored only in this browser’s local storage when your browser permits it; no account is needed. This is a personal checklist, not a graded assessment or recognised qualification.
Think you’ve got the basics?
Take our 12-question knowledge check. It marks your answers, explains mistakes and gives you a score you can improve. This is a free, self-paced quiz rather than a formal qualification.
Take the 12-question quizHow the full Stage 1 course works
Explore the Artificially Us learning method
Each lesson follows four steps: understand it, see it, try it, check it. You can use any reputable conversational AI service that you’re permitted to use; free features are sufficient for most activities. Interfaces and prices change, so we focus on skills that travel with you.
Time: approximately 20–40 minutes per lesson including practice, at your own pace. You can spread it over several days or go faster.
Bring: a phone, tablet or computer, access to an AI assistant, and a notebook or notes app. Don’t use real personal, customer, employee or confidential workplace information in exercises.
Completion: work through Part A and Part B, answer the knowledge checks, complete the Part A checkpoint and finish the Stage 1 final challenge. This is an Artificially Us learning pathway, not an externally accredited qualification.