Set up your development environment before we begin.

📝 Action Items:

1. ⚡ Install Cursor on your laptop – it's highly recommended and will be your AI-powered coding assistant throughout the course.
2. 🐍 Test that you can run Python from your terminal:
   • 📝 Create a file called hello_world.py
   • ✍️ Add this line: print("hello world")
   • ▶️ Run it with: python hello_world.py

📋 Final Deliverable:

• ✅ Cursor installed on your laptop
• ✅ Python working correctly on your system

Please fill out this quick form → https://forms.gle/7Tsatfgih5o5y66P6

We'd love to know:

• 🧠 Your skill level and background
• 💡 What kind of AI project or idea you want to build
• 👯 Whether you're joining solo or as part of a team

This helps us tailor the experience and support to you 🔧✨

📋 Final Deliverable:

• ✅ Completed form submission

Watch this week's lecture to understand the key concepts we'll be working with.

This lecture covers essential information about building your first AI chatbot and preparing for your project.

📝 Action Items:

1. 🎬 Watch Week 1's Lecture: Watch on YouTube
2. First, go through all of this week's tasks to understand what you'll be building
3. Install Cursor and create:
   • A simple "hello world" Python script
   • A more fancy version with some additional features
4. Create a GitHub repository for your chatbot project
5. Modify the chatbot script to specialize it for your domain (such as a therapist chatbot that only loves to talk about himself with Michael Jackson quotes)
6. Share your GitHub code and a small video of your interaction with the chatbot in the 🚀-week-1-outputs Discord channel

📋 Final Deliverable:

• ✅ GitHub repository with your chatbot code
• ✅ Video demonstration of your chatbot interaction
• ✅ Shared your work in the Discord channel

If you haven't been to the kickoff event on May 17 (Saturday), please watch the recording to get up to speed. 🎬

This event covers important information about the program structure, expectations, and introduces you to the AI concepts we'll be working with. 🤖

📝 Action Items:

• 🎬 Watch the Kickoff Event Recording (May 17 Event): Watch on YouTube
  
  Note: We apologize for the poor sound quality - hybrid sessions are always challenging 🎧
• 📊 View the Kickoff Event Slides: View Presentation

Register for these 3 events to get support and connect with the community. 👥

These events are the best way to connect with others in the program, get help with your assignments, and collaborate on your AI projects. 🤝

📝 Action Items:

1. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Ask Any Questions Related to this Week's Assignment (and/or AI)
   📅 Wednesday, May 21 • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
2. 💻 In-Person Coworking Space - Work with each other and get support
   📅 Thursday, May 22 • 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
3. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Ask Any Questions Related to this Week's Assignment (and/or AI)
   📅 Saturday, May 24 • 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here

This week serves as a warm-up to get your environment ready and provide insight into how we can build an AI app. 🔍

It's a preview of what to expect in the development cycle of your project, from development setup and vibe coding to creating a domain-specific chatbot. 🛠️

Next week, we'll focus on fine-tuning your app ideas and team formations will take place. 🤔

Please ask any questions you might have in the questions Discord channel - all questions are great!! ❓

Note: We will give a $50 prize for the person with the most questions asked and answered 🏆

Watch this week's lecture to understand the key concepts we'll be working with. 🎓

This lecture covers essential information about building your first AI chatbot and preparing for your project. 🤖

📝 Action Items:

• 🎬 Watch Week 1's Lecture: Watch on YouTube

Follow these steps (also shown in the lecture) to create your first domain-specific AI chatbot. 💬

📝 Action Items (as shown in the lecture):

1. ⚙️ Install Cursor and create:
   • 🌱 A simple "hello world" Python script
   • 🚀 A more fancy version with some additional features
2. 📂 Create a GitHub repository for your chatbot project
3. 🔄 Clone the GitHub repo, open it with Cursor, create main.py and copy the chatbot base script from this repository into main.py
   • 🔑 Sign up with Together.ai to get a free $1 credit to access different LLMs online and retrieve the API key to use for the LLMs
   • ▶️ Run the main.py code with the base script using:
     python main.py -o 1 -k <your_together_api_key>
   • 🔄 Repeat the process with -o 2 and -o 3 to try different programs.
   • To run the chatbot, use -o 4
4. 🧠 Modify the chatbot script to specialize it for your domain (such as a therapist chatbot that only loves to talk about himself with Michael Jackson quotes)
5. 🔄 Share your GitHub link to the code and a small video (or screenshot) of your interaction with the chatbot in the 🚀-week-1-outputs Discord channel

Post your AI project ideas in the Discord channel and give feedback to others. 🚀

Sharing your ideas early, even if they're not perfect, is one of the best ways to refine your AI idea and connect with potential collaborators. Your idea doesn't have to be fully formed or perfect! 🌱

📝 Action Items:

1. 🚀 Post your project idea in the project-ideas Discord channel.
2. 💬 Provide feedback on at least 3 other project ideas in the channel

📋 This is a great way to expand your horizons by seeing what others are building, connect with others and get valuable feedback to refine your concept before development. 🌟

Announce your AI App building journey on LinkedIn to build accountability and gain community support. 📣

Sharing your journey publicly is a powerful way to stay committed to your goals and connect with others in the AI space.

Many participants have found that posting about their progress led to increased visibility, networking opportunities, and community support. 🌐

Post the link to the LinkedIn post in the 🚀-week-1-outputs Discord channel so we could repost it and make you famous. 🌟

Submit this form to indicate you've completed this week's tasks. 📝

Once you've completed all the tasks for Week 1, please fill out the completion form to let us know about your progress. 🏁

📝 Action Items:

1. 🗓️ Deadline: Sunday, May 25, 2025
2. 📝 Submit the form: Week 1 Completion Form

1. 🚀 Share your project idea in the project-ideas Discord channel for feedback (if you haven't already)
2. 👥 Find Teammates (if needed). Most people plan to work alone, but you can look for teammates for your project.
   • You can post a short description of your project in this find-teammates Discord channel or message someone directly who has posted there.

Watch this week's lecture which will go through this week's tasks

Register for these events to get support and connect with the community. 👥

These events are the best way to connect with others in the program, get help with your assignments, and collaborate on your AI projects. 🤝

📝 Action Items:

1. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Ask questions about your app and this week's assignment!
   📅 Wednesday, May 28 • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
2. 💻 In-Person Coworking Space - Work together and get support in person!
   📅 Thursday, May 29 • 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
3. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Another chance to get your questions answered!
   📅 Saturday, May 31 • 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
4. 🎲 Boardgame Social @ the Beach! - Come hang out with us this Friday evening, weather's looking great!
   📅 Friday, May 30
   🔗 RSVP Here

Use V0 to create a quick website prototype for your AI project and share a screenshot. 📸

V0 is a great tool for rapidly prototyping website designs. This will help you visualize your project's interface and user experience. 🎨

📝 Action Items:

1. 🌐 Go to V0.dev and create an account
2. 🎨 Create a website prototype for your AI project
3. 📸 Take a screenshot of your V0 website design
4. 📤 Share the screenshot in the 🎯｜week-2-outputs Discord channel

Create a clear, structured presentation of your AI idea . 📊

❓ Why: A well-structured presentation helps turn AI ideas into a real, actionable format that others can understand and support.

📝 Action Items:

1. 📊 We encourage 5 slides following this structure:
   • Motivation: Explain what's being done
   • Why: Explain the problem it's solving
   • How: Create a Figure that shows the process flow from input to AI magic to output (we recommend using Excalidraw)
   • Use Cases: Explain who benefits most & how will they use the app
   • Landing Page: First version of your app's homepage using V0
2. 📝 You can use these slides as a template
3. 📤 Share your slides in the 🎯｜week-2-outputs Discord channel

Using your V0 site as inspiration and your slides, create an html version of the landing page for your project and deploy it on GitHub Pages. 🌐

📝 Action Items:

1. 📂 Create a GitHub repository for your project (if you haven't already)
2. 🎨 Use Cursor to create the index.html file which would represent the landing page of your project. You can use the V0 site screenshot as a reference
3. 🚀 Deploy your website using GitHub Pages
4. 🔗 Share the live website link in the 🎯｜week-2-outputs Discord channel

Submit this form to indicate you've completed this week's tasks. 📝

Once you've completed all the tasks for Week 2, please fill out the completion form to let us know about your progress and project development. 🏁

📝 Action Items:

1. 🗓️ Deadline: Sunday, June 1, 2025
2. 📝 Submit the form: Week 2 Completion Form

1. Create a LinkedIn post announcing your AI app journey - it helps build commitment, gain community support, and connect with others in the AI space! 🌟
2. Share your LinkedIn post in the #week-3-outputs Discord channel so we can repost and support 🎉!

💡 Example Post:

Check out this great example from Matthew Dirks announcing his "Live Notes" AI project: LinkedIn Post Example

📝 Action Items:

1. 🎫 RSVP for the event (COUPON: VAS): Vancouver AI Meetup (VAM!) Night
2. 📋 Add yourself to the lineup: Show & Tell Lineup Spreadsheet
   • ⏱️ Each presentation is 5 minutes maximum
   • 🖼️ Best approach, use the slides you created in week 2:
     • Show mostly images of the app such as the control flow (Example of Good Slides)
     • Please avoid text as much as you can
     • It is recommended not to read from the slides (you would lose the audience)
     • A demo showing you interacting with the landing page and user interface is the best presentation practice

Watch this week's lecture to understand the key concepts for building your proof of concept and deploying it to Hugging Face. 🎓

📝 Action Items:

• 🎬 Watch Week 3's Lecture: Watch on YouTube

Register for these events to get support and connect with the community. 👥

These events are the best way to connect with others in the program, get help with your assignments, and collaborate on your AI projects. 🤝

📝 Action Items:

1. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Ask questions about your app and this week's assignment!
   📅 Wednesday, June 4 • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
2. 💻 In-Person Coworking at 93 Coffee - Work together and get support in person!
   📅 Thursday, June 5 • 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
3. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Another chance to get your questions answered!
   📅 Saturday, June 7 • 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here

Create a minimal.py script that runs your app's core functionality without any user interface - focus purely on the AI processing logic! 🤖

This step helps you validate your AI concept and build the foundation before adding complex interfaces. Think of it as your app's "brain" without the "face". 🧠

📝 Action Items:

1. 🎯 Choose one specific use case your app should handle (e.g., "analyze the web for job postings" or "summarize a research paper and extract key insights")
2. Create a GitHub repository for your project and update the README.md file to reflect your project's purpose, structure, and usage
• 📁 Example Repository: Omniscient
3. 📁 Create project structure:
   • Create minimal.py in your project repository
   • Create a results/ folder to store outputs
   • Create an data/ folder for input data
4. 💻 Use Cursor to build your script:
   • 🔑 Use Together.ai API (like in Week 1) for AI processing (if needed)
     • You can copy this script to your minimal.py as a starting point.
   • 📥 Accept user input (text file, command line argument, or simple prompt)
   • 🔄 Process the input through your AI logic
   • 💾 Save the result to the results/ folder with timestamp
5. 🧪 Test with real examples:
   • Run your script with 2-3 different inputs
   • Verify outputs are saved correctly
   • Document what works and what needs improvement
6. 📤 Share your work:
   • Push your code to GitHub
   • Share the GitHub link and a screenshot of some of the outputs in the #week-3-outputs Discord channel

Build a user-friendly interface on top of your minimal.py script using Gradio to create minimal_gradio.py! 🖥️

Gradio allows you to quickly create a web interface for your AI app without complex web development.

This gives you a proof of concept with a real UI that users can interact with.

Next week, we'll explore more powerful web frameworks like Flask that support HTML, CSS, JS, and Next.js, but Gradio gets us there fast! ⚡

📝 Action Items:

1. 🔄 Create minimal_gradio.py:
   • Copy your core functionality from minimal.py
   • Wrap your main processing function to work with Gradio inputs/outputs (use AI Assistant)
   • Create appropriate input components (text box, file upload, dropdown, etc.)
   • Design output components (text, image, file download, etc.)
2. 🚀 Launch and test:
   • Run: python minimal_gradio.py
   • Test your interface in the browser
   • Take screenshots of your working interface
   • Record a short video showing the user interaction (optional)
3. 📤 Share your work:
   • Push your minimal_gradio.py to GitHub
   • Share screenshots and/or video demo in the #week-3-outputs Discord channel

Deploy your Gradio app to Hugging Face Spaces to create a public URL that anyone can access and test! 🌐

Hugging Face Spaces provides free hosting for Gradio apps, making it easy to share your AI project with the world. This gives you a professional deployment that you can showcase in your portfolio. 🎯

📝 Action Items:

1. 🔑 Create Hugging Face account:
   • Sign up at huggingface.co if you don't have an account
   • Verify your email address
2. 🚀 Create a new Space:
   • Go to Hugging Face Spaces
   • Click "Create new Space"
   • Choose "Gradio" as the SDK
   • Name your space (e.g., "my-ai-app-name")
   • Set visibility to "Public"
3. 📁 Upload your files (you can use this as reference: Github Repository):
   • Upload your minimal_gradio.py file
   • Rename it to app.py (required by Hugging Face)
   • Create a requirements.txt file listing your dependencies (e.g., gradio, requests, etc.)
   • Add any additional files your app needs
4. ⚙️ Configure your app:
   • Ensure your Together.ai API key is handled securely (use Hugging Face Secrets if needed)
   • Test that your app builds and runs successfully
   • Wait for the Space to build (usually takes 2-5 minutes)
5. Share the public Hugging Face Spaces URL in the #week-3-outputs Discord channel
6. Include a screenshot showing your app working in the channel

Create a GitHub issue that defines one of the challenges or tasks you need to complete next for your app, then help 3 others with their challenges! 🤝

This is an excellent practice for organizing your tasks systematically and getting community support. By helping others, you'll also learn new approaches and build valuable connections. 💡

📝 Action Items:

1. 📋 Create a detailed GitHub issue (Example: Github Issue):
   • 🎯 Define one specific challenge or task you need to complete next
   • 📝 Include context about what you're trying to achieve
   • 🔍 Describe what you've tried so far (if anything)
   • ❓ Clearly state what kind of help or guidance you need
   • 📎 Add relevant code snippets, error messages, or screenshots if applicable
2. 📤 Share your GitHub issue in the #questions Discord channel for community support
3. 🤝 Help others by commenting on 3 GitHub issues shared in the #questions channel:
   • 💭 Provide thoughtful suggestions or solutions
   • 🔗 Share relevant resources or documentation
   • ❓ Ask clarifying questions to better understand their challenge
   • 🎉 Offer encouragement and support

💡 Example GitHub Issue Topics:

• 🔧 "Need help integrating Together.ai API with file upload functionality"
• 🎨 "How to improve my app's user interface design"
• 📊 "Implementing data visualization for my AI results"
• 🚀 "Best practices for deploying my app to production"
• ⚡ "Optimizing AI response time for better user experience"

Submit this form to indicate you've completed this week's tasks. 📝

Once you've completed all the tasks for Week 3, please fill out the completion form to let us know about your progress and project development. 🏁

📝 Action Items:

1. 🗓️ Deadline: Sunday, June 8, 2025
2. 📝 Submit the form: Week 3 Completion Form

Register for these events to get support and connect with the community. 👥

These events are the best way to connect with others in the program, get help with your assignments, and collaborate on your AI projects. 🤝

📝 Action Items:

1. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Ask questions about your app and this week's assignment!
   📅 Wednesday, June 11 • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
2. 💻 In-Person Open Chat & Co-Working at 93 Coffee - Work together and get support in person!
   📅 Thursday, June 12 • 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
3. 🧠 Online Q&A Office Hours - Another chance to get your questions answered!
   📅 Saturday, June 14 • 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here

Watch this week's lecture to understand the key concepts for RAG, MCPs, and Flask development! 🎓

📝 Action Items:

• 🎬 Watch Week 4's Lecture: Youtube Link

Learn to empower your AI applications with external knowledge through RAG! 🧠

RAG allows your AI to access and utilize external documents, databases, and knowledge bases to provide more accurate and up-to-date responses. This is crucial for building AI apps that can work with your specific data. 📚

📝 Action Items:

• 🔧 Build RAG Example: Create rag_example.py under scripts/ that uses RAG for a specific use case of your app idea
• 📖 Copy the code from this repo as a base for your RAG implementation
• 🧪 Modify the data sources to use your own data and modify the question to ask the AI question you want to answer based on your app idea
• 🔗 Share the github link to your RAG code and a screenshot of your RAG output in the #week-4-outputs Discord channel

Learn how MCPs enable seamless integration between AI models and external tools! ⚡

MCPs provide a standardized way for AI models to interact with external services, APIs, and tools, making your AI applications more powerful and versatile. 🛠️

📝 Action Items:

• 🔧 Build MCP Examples: Create mcp_server_example.py and mcp_client_example.py under scripts/ that uses MCPs for a specific use case of your app idea
• 🔍 Copy this code for the the mcp_server.py
• 🔍 Copy this code for the the mcp_client.py
• 💡 Follow the steps in the mcp_server.py to create a process that allows you to send text messages on the phone automatically. Create an account in Surge
• Modify the tools in the mcp_server.py and the process in mcp_client.py to send a message to your phone in the way that fits your app idea
• 🔗 Share the github link to your mcp code and a screenshot of your phone with the text message in the #week-4-outputs Discord channel

Move beyond Gradio and create stunning, professional web applications with Flask! 🎨

Flask gives you complete control over your web application's design and functionality, allowing you to create beautiful, custom interfaces that truly represent your vision. 🚀

📝 Action Items:

• 📺 Use the AI assistant to help you create the app.py and the templates/index.html based on the gradio app that you created which you had a proof of concept
• 🏗️ test your app.py to see if it handles some of the usecases of your app idea
• 🔗 Share a screenshot of the site that gets displayed when running python app.py in the #week-4-outputs Discord channel

Submit this form to indicate you've completed this week's tasks. 📝

📝 Action Items:

1. 🗓️ Deadline: Sunday, June 15, 2025
2. Update your github repo with the new code and the new changes
3. 📝 Submit the form: Week 4 Completion Form

Update your Hugging Face Space with your latest app (such as Flask) to showcase your progress! 🌐

Now that you've built a more sophisticated application, it's time to update your deployment to show off your progress. This will help you get better feedback during the presentation. 🎯

📝 Action Items:

1. 🔄 Update your Hugging Face Space:
   • Update your app.py with your latest app implementation
   • Update your requirements.txt to include any new dependencies
   • Test that your app builds and runs successfully on Hugging Face
2. 🔗 Share your updated Hugging Face Space URL in the #week-5-outputs Discord channel

Present your app's progress in a 2-minute demo and get valuable feedback! 💡

This is your chance to show what you've built so far and get constructive feedback to make your app even better. No slides needed - just show your app in action! 🚀

📝 Action Items:

1. 📝 Add yourself to the lineup: Progress Presentation Lineup
   • Options: Wednesday (5:30-6:30PM PDT), Thursday (5:30-7:00PM PDT), Saturday (11:00-12:15PM PDT)

Join us for the final office hours and celebration events of the program! 🎉

These are your last chances to get support, connect with the community, and celebrate your achievements together! 🤝

📝 Action Items:

1. 🧠 Final Q&A Office Hours (Wednesday) - Last chance for questions and support!
   📅 Wednesday, June 25 • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
2. 💻 Final In-Person Co-Working (Thursday) - Work together one last time!
   📅 Thursday, June 26 • 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
3. 🧠 Final Q&A Office Hours (Saturday) - Last opportunity for support!
   📅 Saturday, June 28 • 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM PDT
   🔗 RSVP Here
4. 🏖️ Beach Social Celebration - Let's celebrate our success together!
   📅 Friday, June 27 • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
   📍 English Bay Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia
   🔗 RSVP Here

Watch this week's lecture to understand how to deploy your app to Hugging Face and create an effective demo presentation! 🎓

Deploy your final, polished app to HuggingFace Spaces and share it with the community! 🌐

📝 Action Items:

1. Consider this code as inspiration for implementing the needed Dockerfile and requirements.txt: Flask App
2. 🚀 Upload your code to HuggingFace Spaces
   • Example HF App: Omniscient
   • You can click on "Files" on the app above to help you see how it got deployed
3. Please make sure your app is in Running mode and is accessible
4. 🔗 Share the huggingface spaces link of your app in the #week-6-final Discord channel

📋 Note: This is necessary to get your certificate of completion! 🎓

Create a 30-second to 3-minute demo video showing how your app works - no slides, just pure interaction! 🎬

See these as example demo youtube videos:

• AIComparely
• JobLeaper

📝 Action Items:

1. 🎥 Record your demo:
   • Screen record yourself using your app, explaining what you're doing as you interact with it
   • Show the input → AI processing → output flow, highlighting the key features and benefits
   • Please keep it between 30 seconds and 3 minutes
2. 📤 Upload to YouTube as either "public" or "unlisted"
3. 🔗 Share the link to your youtube video in the #week-6-final Discord channel

📋 Note: This is necessary to get your certificate of completion! 🎓

Complete the final submission form and register for the in-person Demo Day celebration! 🎉

📝 Action Items:

1. 📝 Submit the Final Form: VAS Final Week 6 - Deploy & Share your App
   • Note that we will create the certificates based on the information you provide in the form above
2. 🎤 Register for Demo Day (if attending in person): Demo Day Lineup Spreadsheet
   • Add your name and project to present. If you can't attend in person, please message on Discord
3. 📢 Share your accomplishment on LinkedIn you and your work deserves to be seen! Example Post
4. 🗓️ Deadline: Sunday, June 29, 2025

🎓 Congratulations on completing the VAS program! You should be proud of what you've accomplished! 🌟

• Submission Excel Sheet
• Discord Link

Week 1 Content:

• Lecture 1 (Monday) - Agentic AI: Watch Recording
• Lecture 1 (Wednesday) - Agentic AI: Watch Recording

• Orientation Recording: Watch the recording
  

• AI Project Inspiration: Creative AI project ideas to spark innovation
• DeepLearning.AI Courses: Curated by Andrew Ng, with focused 2-hour lessons