Understanding AI, Step by Step — Free Courses for Everyone

A free, no-code, no-jargon visual course series that takes you from “what even is AI?” all the way to building and using AI responsibly. Six short courses, 25 slides each — perfect for school & college students, teachers, and curious beginners. Bookmark this page: I keep adding new topics here.

Each course works offline — just open it in any browser, use ← / → to move, F for fullscreen. Suggested time: ~60–90 minutes each.

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Course 1 · Start Here

AI · LLMs · Generative AI — Explained

The foundation. What AI is, what an LLM is, what Generative AI is, and how they join together to power the AI everyone uses today. No coding, no maths, no jargon.

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Course 2

Prompting — Talking to AI

How to talk to AI so it actually helps: better questions in, far better answers out. Learn the checklist — Task · Context · Format · Tone · Example · Iterate · Verify.

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Course 3

Under the Hood — Tokens, Context & Embeddings

Opens the “black box”: why does AI forget? why does it cost money? how does it seem to understand what I mean? Meet tokens, the context window, embeddings and grounding (RAG).

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Course 4

Making AI Do Things — APIs, Tools & Structured Output

Where AI stops just talking and starts doing — checking the weather, doing maths, sending a message — using APIs, JSON and tools. Ends with a gentle taste of code.

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Course 5

AI Agents · RAG · Agentic AI

From intuition to a working understanding of AI Agents (the doer), RAG (the fact-checker), and Agentic AI (the team of agents that plan and collaborate toward a goal).

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Course 6 · Capstone

Using AI Responsibly — Evaluation, Safety & Guardrails

Being a smart, safe and fair user of AI: judging whether AI is right, staying safe (privacy, security, guardrails), and doing the right thing. Five habits: CHECK · PROTECT · QUESTION · CREDIT · DECIDE.

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New topics are added to this page over time — bookmark it and check back. Found these useful? Share them with a friend, teacher or classmate.

The escapist

To wander in the virtual realm of ether
Where intentions darken to singularity,

Dimensions are devoid of aftermath
It's meaningless to pursue life...
Perhaps lifeless to pursue the meaning

At the end sleeping awake
Dreams dissappear slow but steady, but surely

An escapist still lives on, inspite of hope and despair, an escapist will escape all feelings to stand up and fight till the next dusk

Our very own festivity of hues, lights and dance

The 'pujas' kicks off in style ...

Like always my wonderings never end... Is it promoting 'idol worship' or 'animal labour' or some other social evils?

Economically it definitely a mixed ripple across all 'Bongs' (I purposely use the term as as the term 'Bengalis' have been gulped down by cosmopolitanism back in 1982 or earlier) ... Well its another story.

The purchasing side of the economics, in this time of the year (or from couple of months back) is in a mood to splurge. And it does not stop with proverty. In its like 'drinking life to the lees' experience, to drop in the last penny for a few celebratable days of the year.

The selling side ofcourse, puts in but in terms of efforts. They gather whatever they get, in whatever form or quality and present infront of people (not necessarily customers), who most of the time are totally unsure about their need or credit-limit, for pounding on them. This cuts across clothes, food, gifts, sweets (yes somehow its different from food too) and everything else. I dare not forget convayance too, in a time when it premiums anywhere between 15-300 percent more in the city (oh the city here is called Calcutta, the very old English loving place - not nearly even the city of joy)

There remains millions if not more, forgotten and lost stories of sadness, remorse and loss. Which are either ignored as trifle or considered a blessing (in disguise of curse) by the ten-fold goddess.

It is mostly found that the concern of livelihood or well-being among the celebrating population (which engulfs close to all) is transformed into a surprising concern of showcase-ability or merrymaking to the limit, where the care for self enjoyment wins over all others. The social eyebrow is also remain un-raised in all such cases. This goes on again in all forms. Starting with the most competent traffic rulers. The simplest examples start from the heavily trafficked roads which hardly can remain on the verge of a collapse in other parts of the year and narrowed (if not completely blocked) but semi-permanent 'pandals' (temple look-alike tents). These structures vehemently block travel possibilities, at a time when vehicular movements (even for those who need it - like ambulances) are of utmost importance. The traffic situation prefers to allow such events with complete legal/political support and people are either dumb or mum  In fact any amount of grievance or complaints about such instances are considered as stupidity or party-spoilers.

The next most affected are people suffering from non-sound-tolerable diseases. The noise level of the city post noon starts from squeals of merrymaking to loud megaphone music. The average time to sleep shifts towards morning, for most of the crowd and so does these sound engines. The regulations, if at all in existence, are all on paper and seldom pops out of it. These couple of instances were just examples and not the end of the list.


[The journal is currently under composition]

Dugga Dugga

Aaj shokaler brishti janiye gelo pujo eshechhey... 
Ghonta nei, dhak-dhol nei .. shudhui jhom-jhom-e metechhey
Jhom-jhom er suur eriye, ektu pothe egiye, aalo jodio berolo,
Tobey eki? tulor megh je kaalo, kash fuul jawl er tolay haralo.

Prithibi juurey lal hahakaar, maa er kaachhe lukiye rakhi
Amader 'sonar bangla' notun rong-e juure amra sukhei (bodhoy) aachi

A

Morey Jaoaar Gaan

Keno osthir osthir e pipasha
Jani na e ki hingsha na hotasha
Obhishap gile birokti Ar byastota
Chhera bostar bostubaad ta
Aakkhep acid er jibon
Kichhu Hatchhanir prolobhon
Keno beche dewa okaron
Ochena joto aabhoron
Bishhash jeno Shudhu bondike
Kalo istofa e prithibir jomite
Bishree joto mostoker bomite
Chabuk marte marte morte

-A

Illusion is reality

Illusion is imaginary

But it gives life, propels energy

Or sometimes, lets breathe

In the blissful shroud of ignorance and happiness.

In belief thus remains sanity (or a false sense of it)

And that is freedom of the heart

For when a soul strikes its course

It knows not why or how, except that it has to

Same for life, we know not the meaning

Or the reason of livelihood;

Of being born, eat, grow and die.

All but faith, a credence, a certitude

A feeling of 'Yes, what I think is true'

A

Anger

Wrath disturbs my thinking
Thunder frequents chaos
That day and today,
Tomorrow; may be forever
I remain angry like the storm

Silence disturbs my sleep
Close to hell, the red: close to blood
Home comes to hatred
Longing for the island without sun
Which remains dry like death

Breath disturbs my smelling
Smoke, smoked to burnt

-A

Lost in time

During day I did not
Dusk brought night closer
And I gazed outside the window
Into the bewilderment

You smiled and asked 'Why?'
I don't recall whether I smiled
But I looked back, unscathed
Into the fanthomless darkness

The engine blew another siren
Foretelling the hour of uncertainty
We remained silent as ever
And the journey continued...

No one knows for sure
What happened that night
Or the next morning
But I lost You forever

-A

My photography blog

I announce the launch of my newbie photography blog:

http://frombehindtheshutter.blogspot.com/

It basically has shots now. More later...

-Arnab Pal

Silent Delicacy

Just found a booming number of hits for RECEME in the past 5 days (2000+ hits).The obvious option was to google for “receme” detect my suspicion.

Here is what I found…

At least 5 top tech mags have listed/linked-to my project at code project:

http://www.dotnet-news.com/detail.aspx?ID=45918
http://www.elifemagz.com/category/application-software/programming/
http://www.dotnetonweb.com/dot-net-tutorials/c-sharp-tutorials/receme-remote-command-execution-through-email-exchange/
http://www.devasp.net/net/search/res/r354712.html
http://en.serialcoder.net/technews/RECEME+-+Remote+Command+Execution+through+eMail+Exchange.aspx

The original posted article resides here:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/applications/receme.aspx

-A