Day 1 - Session 1: Welcome and Getting Started

Can we control AI output?

Author

Dr Brian Ballsun-Stanton

Published

September 8, 2025

Welcome to AI Summercamp!

Today’s Big Question

Can we control AI output?

This Morning

Get to know each other
Set up our tools
Define your learning goals with AI assistance
Start building our shared “grimoire”

What We’ll Learn This Session

By the end of this morning, you will be able to:

Do: Navigate Conceptboard and connect to AI tools
Explain: What a “grimoire” is and why we’re building one
Create: A refined set of personal learning goals using AI

Our Journey This Week

Monday: Can we control AI output?

Tuesday: How do we populate the context window?

Wednesday: What can we verify?

Thursday: How should we work?

Friday: When do things break?

Each day builds on the last - we’re learning both skills AND judgment.

Introductions (20 min)

On the Conceptboard: 1. Write your name and background 2. Add one question you have about AI 3. Put a +1 on questions you share

Let’s learn who’s in the room and what we’re curious about.

The Grimoire Concept

What: Our collective spellbook of prompts Why: Learn from each other’s experiments How: Document, annotate, iterate

Throughout the week: - Save your prompts - Note what worked/failed
- Share discoveries - Build on others’ work

Technical Setup

Sticky note protocol

On your desk is a green and a pink sticky note.

Green: “I am done with the task” Pink: “I would like help” Nothing: “I am happily working away, please wait for me.”

Getting Connected

Check your email for an API key
Open chatcraft.org
Enter your API key in the settings menu
Connect to Claude Sonnet 4

If you have an API key in your email put up a green sticky note now.

Exercise: Ask Me One Question at a Time (20 minutes)

Your first real AI interaction! We’ll use this prompt:

System prompt

You are a critical and specific academic assistant, helping to collate and operationalise the user’s goals for the week. The user’s primary language is German. Where concepts are unclear, provide a german translation and a discussion along with the primary text.

User prompt

Hi Claude. I’ve just started an intensive 1 week course covering an Introduction to Large Language Models. My goal in this conversation is for you to operationalise my learning goals for this week so that I can share them with the class. Please ask me one specific, pointed, and critical question at a time until you have enough detail to give me a paragraph in English about my learning goals for the week or until I tell you that we’ve run out of time. Do not assume, if things are unclear, push on the words I use and my understandings of them. To begin, please functionally decompose the task at hand and give me a readback of the intended communication style.

The AI will interview you to help refine your learning goals for the week. Notice: - How it builds understanding gradually - Which questions are helpful vs. not - How your answers shape its questions

What’s Next?

After the Break

System prompts and control
The “Drunk Tutor” problem
Beginning our annotation practice

Throughout the Week

Daily “Show me your prompts” discussions
Building complexity gradually
Developing your judgment alongside skills

Resources

Conceptboard: check your email for the invite
ChatCraft: [https://chatcraft.org]
Questions? Ask anytime!

--- title: "Day 1 - Session 1: Welcome and Getting Started" subtitle: "Can we control AI output?" author: - "Dr Brian Ballsun-Stanton" date: "8 September 2025" format: revealjs: slide-number: true chalkboard: true theme: [default, ../reveal-custom.scss] footer: "AI Summercamp 2025 - Basic Course" preview-links: auto transition: slide background-transition: fade highlight-style: github navigation-mode: vertical --- ## Welcome to AI Summercamp! ### Today's Big Question **Can we control AI output?** ### This Morning - Get to know each other - Set up our tools - Define your learning goals with AI assistance - Start building our shared "grimoire" --- ## What We'll Learn This Session By the end of this morning, you will be able to: - **Do**: Navigate Conceptboard and connect to AI tools - **Explain**: What a "grimoire" is and why we're building one - **Create**: A refined set of personal learning goals using AI --- ## Our Journey This Week ### Monday: Can we control AI output? ### Tuesday: How do we populate the context window? ### Wednesday: What can we verify? ### Thursday: How *should* we work? ### Friday: When do things break? Each day builds on the last - we're learning both skills AND judgment. --- ## Introductions (20 min) On the Conceptboard: 1. Write your name and background 2. Add one question you have about AI 3. Put a +1 on questions you share Let's learn who's in the room and what we're curious about. --- ## The Grimoire Concept **What**: Our collective spellbook of prompts **Why**: Learn from each other's experiments **How**: Document, annotate, iterate Throughout the week: - Save your prompts - Note what worked/failed - Share discoveries - Build on others' work --- ## Technical Setup ### Sticky note protocol On your desk is a green and a pink sticky note. Green: "I am done with the task" Pink: "I would like help" Nothing: "I am happily working away, please wait for me." ### Getting Connected 1. Check your email for an API key 2. Open chatcraft.org 3. Enter your API key in the settings menu 4. Connect to Claude Sonnet 4 If you have an API key in your email put up a green sticky note now. --- ## Exercise: Ask Me One Question at a Time (20 minutes) Your first real AI interaction! We'll use this prompt: ### System prompt > You are a critical and specific academic assistant, helping to collate and operationalise the user's goals for the week. The user's primary language is German. Where concepts are unclear, provide a german translation and a discussion along with the primary text. ### User prompt > Hi Claude. > I've just started an intensive 1 week course covering an Introduction to Large Language Models. My goal in this conversation is for you to operationalise my learning goals for this week so that I can share them with the class. Please ask me one *specific*, pointed, and critical question at a time until you have enough detail to give me a paragraph in English about my learning goals for the week or until I tell you that we've run out of time. Do not assume, if things are unclear, push on the words I use and my understandings of them. > To begin, please functionally decompose the task at hand and give me a readback of the intended communication style. The AI will interview you to help refine your learning goals for the week. Notice: - How it builds understanding gradually - Which questions are helpful vs. not - How your answers shape its questions --- ## What's Next? ### After the Break - System prompts and control - The "Drunk Tutor" problem - Beginning our annotation practice ### Throughout the Week - Daily "Show me your prompts" discussions - Building complexity gradually - Developing your judgment alongside skills --- ## Resources - Conceptboard: check your email for the invite - ChatCraft: [https://chatcraft.org] - Questions? Ask anytime!