Zero to One AI Launch Lab

Taught By

Aditya Balasubramanian

A UC Berkeley Computer Science student and CalHacks 2024 winner, Aditya is a software engineer and distributed systems researcher based in Silicon Valley. Currently at Sigma Computing and selected as a Codepoint Fellow at Sutter Hill Ventures, he combines cutting-edge research on distributed systems at Berkeley's RISE Lab with practical engineering experience from JPMorgan Chase and Cigna. His technical leadership spans from course staff positions in Berkeley's core CS curriculum to spearheading backend development at Berkeleytime, Berkeley's course discovery platform.

Week by Week Curriculum

Week 1: Introduction to AI and Machine Learning

Welcome and program overview
What is AI/ML? Real-world examples
Introduction to Large Language Models
Project preview and expectations
Homework: Compare AI tools and write analysis report

Week 2: Python for AI Development

Review of essential Python concepts
Introduction to key AI/ML libraries
Working with APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic)
Guided practice: Making API calls
Homework: Complete API interaction exercises

Week 3: Working with Data and Prompts

Understanding different types of data
Prompt engineering basics
Practice with prompt templates
Data collection and cleaning
Homework: Design and test prompt series

Week 4: Introduction to Machine Learning and LLMs

Basic ML concepts
How LLMs work
Demo of ML model and LLM integration
Homework: Create ML-LLM combination program

Week 5: Project Selection and Planning

Understanding project scope
Project options presentation
Project planning workshop
Choose from: AI Research Assistant, Smart Content Generator, Data Analysis Co-pilot, and more

Week 6: RAG + Project Research

Introduction to RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
Implementing RAG in Python
Finding AI resources and datasets
Project work time and guidance

Week 7: Development and Integration

Common AI/LLM challenges
Debugging strategies
Project work time
Complete first working version

Week 8: Testing & Feedback

Testing AI applications
Present initial projects
Peer feedback session
Project improvement planning

Week 9: Final Development

AI safety and ethics discussion
Project work time
Final questions and guidance
Presentation preparation

Week 10: Final Presentations

Student presentations
Program wrap-up
Celebration and next steps
Submit final documentation

Zero to One AI Launch Lab: Your First AI Passion Project

In Partnership With