Make AI useful, one hour at a time.

Free 12-week AI program for the military community

Twelve weekly sessions, one hour each, fully remote on Google Meet. Built for active-duty service members, transitioning veterans, retirees, and military families. No prior tech experience required. Every tool we touch is free — no subscriptions, ever.

Save your seat See the curriculum
12 Weeks of live sessions
101 Beginner-friendly throughout
1 hr Per week, on Google Meet
$0 Tuition. Tools. Forever.
What you'll walk away with

Real skills. Real artifacts. Yours to keep.

This isn't a passive lecture series. By the end of twelve weeks, you'll have working tools, a polished setup, and a clear sense of how to keep getting better — long after the last session ends.

Confidence with five major AI tools

Working free accounts in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and Google AI Studio — and a clear feel for when to reach for which.

A prompting toolkit that transfers

Patterns that work in any AI, today or two years from now. No re-learning every time a new tool drops.

A personal OPSEC playbook

What consumer AI is and isn't safe for. Where to flip privacy switches. A simple rulebook for what stays out.

A working website, app, and assistant

By the end, you'll have shipped a real one-page site, a working micro-app, and a custom AI assistant — all built by you, in plain English.

A research workflow that beats Google

Upload your sources. Ask questions. Get cited answers. Generate an audio overview while you make dinner.

A daily-driver stack that fits your life

A curated, opinionated set of tools and habits to keep you sharp after the series ends. Nothing flashy. Things you'll actually use.

12 weeks · 3 themes

The curriculum at a glance.

Twelve standalone sessions grouped into three monthly themes. Miss one and you can pick up the next week without falling behind. Stay through all twelve and you'll cover the full arc — from your first prompt to your first shipped project.

Month 1

Foundations

Get oriented. Accounts, prompting, personalization, OPSEC.

  1. 1

    AI Landscape & Account Setup

    Free accounts for the five major AI tools, set up live together.

  2. 2

    Prompt Engineering 101

    The patterns that make any AI dramatically more useful.

  3. 3

    Custom Instructions & Memory

    Configure AI tools that remember who you are and how you work.

  4. 4

    AI Safety, Privacy & OPSEC

    Build your personal rulebook for what stays out of consumer AI.

Month 2

Creation

Make stuff. Research, images, writing, audio.

  1. 5

    NotebookLM, Skills, and Loops

    Your new research assistant plus advanced prompting

  2. 6

    Image Generation 101

    Create real, usable images. Four free tools, side by side.

  3. 7

    AI Writing Workshop

    Use AI as a real-time thinking and editing partner.

  4. 8

    Claude Co-Work

    An autonomous, agentic AI workspace that lives on your desktop and directly accesses your local files, applications, and web tools to plan and execute complex, multi-step tasks from start to finish.

Month 3

Build

Ship something. Apps, websites, custom assistants.

  1. 9

    Build Your First Micro App

    A working personal tool, described in plain English with Claude Artifacts.

  2. 10

    Build Your First Website

    A real, shareable site stood up in one session with Bolt.new.

  3. 11

    Build Your Own AI Assistant

    A custom GPT, Gem, or Project tuned to a task in your life.

  4. 12

    Show & Tell + Your Toolkit

    Celebrate, share, and leave with a daily-driver stack you'll actually use.

12 sessions · Sundays

The schedule.

Sessions run every Sunday for twelve weeks. Same time slot each week — block it once and you're set.

All sessions: 7:00pm Eastern 6:00pm Central 5:00pm Mountain 4:00pm Pacific
  1. W1

    Sun · May 24

    AI Landscape & Account Setup

  2. W2

    Sun · May 31

    Prompt Engineering 101

  3. W3

    Sun · Jun 7

    Custom Instructions & Memory

  4. W4

    Sun · Jun 14

    AI Safety, Privacy & OPSEC

  5. W5

    Sun · Jun 21

    NotebookLM, Skills, and Loops

  6. W6

    Sun · Jun 28

    Image Generation 101

  7. W7

    Sun · Jul 5

    AI Writing Workshop

  8. W8

    Sun · Jul 12

    Claude Co-Work

  9. W9

    Sun · Jul 19

    Build Your First Micro App

  10. W10

    Sun · Jul 26

    Build Your First Website

  11. W11

    Sun · Aug 2

    Build Your Own AI Assistant

  12. W12

    Sun · Aug 9

    Show & Tell + Your Toolkit

Format & logistics

How it works.

Designed to fit a real week. One hour, live, low pressure. We meet, we build, we wrap. No homework you'll dread.

Live on Google Meet

Fully remote. Camera optional, mic-on welcome, questions encouraged.

60 minutes a week

20 minutes of teaching, 30 minutes of demos / hands-on, 10 minutes Q&A.

Every tool free

No subscriptions, ever. Each tool's free tier has been tested for the session.

101-level throughout

No prior tech experience required. Beginners and the curious are equally welcome.

Who's teaching

Your instructor.

Josh Ellis

Josh Ellis

Husband, Father, Techie at Heart

25 years across The Ohio State University Office of Research, Dell, Google, and founder of Intempo Health.

Technology leader passionately bringing novel solutions to the world's most complex problems across healthcare and life sciences, energy, public, and commercial sectors.

Born in PA — Shoveled snow in Buffalo, NY — Grew up a Buckeye — Worked 70-hour weeks in Silicon Valley for 11 years — Two kids in Austin, TX — Now, presidential white tops fly over my house in Vienna, Virginia.

Pull up a chair. Let's begin.

Common questions

Before you sign up.

Do I need to be technical to do this?

No. Every session is 101-level and assumes zero prior AI experience. If you can use a web browser and open a tab, you can do this. We avoid jargon, and when we do use a technical term, we define it on the spot.

Do I have to install anything?

No software, no apps, no downloads. Every tool we use runs in your browser. Week 1 is dedicated to creating free accounts for the five main tools together — so even if you've never touched any of them, you won't be left behind.

What about OPSEC and privacy?

We treat this seriously. Week 4 is dedicated entirely to AI safety, privacy, and OPSEC — what consumer AI tools are and aren't safe for, where to find privacy and data-training settings in each tool, and how to build a personal rulebook for what stays out.

You'll never be asked to share sensitive information, real names, unit identifiers, or anything you wouldn't post publicly. The series uses consumer AI tools and stays out of restricted material entirely.

Will sessions be recorded?

Yes, sessions will be recorded and shared with the cohort within 24 hours so you can catch up if life or duty gets in the way.

What if I miss a session?

Sessions are themed but standalone, so missing one isn't detrimental. You can join the next week and pick up the topic at your own pace. Recordings will help you catch up on what you missed.

Is this really free? What's the catch?

No catch. Every tool we use offers a real, durable free tier that's been tested for the session. We never push paid subscriptions, and we never receive referral fees for any tool we recommend. The model is simple: free for life, paid optional.

Who is this not for?

If you're already building production AI systems professionally, this 101 series won't move your needle — go straight to advanced material. If you're looking for classified-environment AI guidance, this isn't that either; we use consumer tools and stay out of restricted material by design.

How do I save my seat?

Fill out the Save your seat form at the bottom of the page. We'll confirm within 48 hours.