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YOURPACEAI WORKSHOP · Beginner

AI foundations

Understand what AI can do, where it falls short, and how to use it thoughtfully.

60–90 minutes · Five modules, a portfolio workbook and automatic assessment.

No coding or paid AI tool needed. Use the supplied fictional draft, or an AI assistant you are permitted to use.

Open interactive workshop

Read all lessons freely here. The interactive workshop lets you save your workbook, take the automatic assessment and earn a non-accredited certificate.

By the end, you can

Practice materials

Download practice pack
Read the fictional source material
FICTIONAL EVENT BRIEF
Name: Riverside Skills Swap
Audience: adults curious about learning a new skill
Date: 14 November (fictional exercise; not a real event)
Venue: Riverside Library
Price: free
Booking: reply to the organiser
Time: not yet confirmed
Accessibility arrangements: ask the organiser; not yet confirmed

AI without the overwhelm

MODULE 1 OF 5

What AI does

AI systems learn patterns from data to make predictions or generate content. Generative AI creates text, images or other outputs from a request. It does not guarantee truth or understand your situation the way a colleague does.

Worked example

Input

Sort three tasks: predict demand from past sales; draft an invitation; send a reminder on a fixed date.

Reviewed result

Prediction uses historical patterns. Generative AI drafts new wording. A fixed-date reminder can use an ordinary rule.

Choose the simplest approach that fits the job. Using AI for every step adds unnecessary uncertainty.

Quick check: Does a fixed-date reminder require a language model?

No. A calendar rule can do this without generating text.

Your activity

List three tasks in your week. Which involve a draft, a summary or a pattern? Choose one low-risk task to explore.

MODULE 2 OF 5

A task is not a whole job

A job combines tasks, relationships, judgement and accountability. AI can change how some tasks are done, while people still need to decide what matters and check results. The impact differs by role and organisation.

Worked example

Input

Source brief: event price is free; time is not confirmed. AI draft: “Join us at 10am for only £5.”

Reviewed result

“Join the free Riverside Skills Swap. The organiser will confirm the time.”

The reviewed version preserves the supplied facts and marks a gap instead of guessing.

Quick check: Which two details in the original draft fail the source check?

10am is unsupported and £5 contradicts the free price.

Your activity

Split your chosen task into preparation, drafting, checking and deciding. Mark which parts need your judgement.

MODULE 3 OF 5

Use your existing strengths

Your knowledge of a customer, industry or workflow can help you choose a useful AI task and spot a poor result. Start with a small experiment and keep a record of quality, effort and limitations.

Worked example

Input

Manual drafting took 12 minutes. AI drafting took 2 minutes and checking took 6 minutes.

Reviewed result

Total AI-assisted time: 8 minutes. Saving: 4 minutes, provided the reviewed result meets the same quality criteria.

Measure the whole task and compare quality, rather than timing generation alone.

Quick check: What if review takes 14 minutes instead?

The assisted task takes 16 minutes, which is slower than the 12-minute manual baseline.

Your activity

Write a before-and-after example using fictional information. Explain what you checked and where AI did not help.

MODULE 4 OF 5

Run a small, controlled experiment

Choose one task from the brief: invitation, FAQ draft or checklist. Before trying AI, list three required facts and two failure conditions. Keep the same brief for both versions so your comparison is fair.

Worked example

Example log: time invented → remove time; price wrong → restore free; tone too formal → shorten sentences. Do not record an improvement unless your evidence supports it.

Your activity

Make a manual draft and an AI-assisted or supplied draft. Record total effort and every factual correction.

MODULE 5 OF 5

Build your first evidence page

An experiment is useful when someone can see the input, the reviewed output and your reasons. A short evidence page can be a document or notes file; screenshots are optional.

Worked example

A useful limitation: this one fictional event does not show that the approach works with private data, every audience or high-stakes decisions.

Your activity

Assemble the four workbook sections below and identify a situation where you would avoid this workflow.

A reviewed AI experiment

Use the event brief to create an invitation. Compare an initial draft with your reviewed version and decide whether AI helped.

Workbook sections

  1. Task, audience and success criteria
  2. Initial draft and reviewed output
  3. Corrections and evidence for each change
  4. Time comparison, limitations and next test

Review rubric

Automatic assessment and certificate

Five knowledge questions and three applied scenario checks are marked immediately. Pass with at least 4/5 knowledge answers and all 3/3 applied checks correct. Feedback and retries are available. Certificates also require five completed activities and a four-section workbook. The portfolio is recorded, not independently graded; the assessment is open-book, unproctored and non-accredited.

Take the workshop assessment

Continue with external study

Go further with a portfolio project

Choose an everyday task. Try an AI assistant, check the result, and write down what worked and what needed your judgement.

External course access and fees are set by their providers.