From Idea to AI Tool — Workshop 1: Build Your Own Email Classifier

A hands-on introduction to building useful AI tools on your own laptop
You'll build an AI-powered email classifier that runs entirely on your laptop. It's designed for people who are comfortable running Python, but new to building full AI products.
You’ll learn how to:

• Spot genuine AI opportunities in your daily work
• Collect and prepare useful data
• Build a user interface to classify emails and improve your model
• Develop and run an AI classifier you can customize and use on your own projects
• Understand the end-to-end development process for AI tools:
• Deploying on your own machine
• Connecting with APIs
• Getting buy-in from others
• Sharing the tool with your team or organisation

You’ll leave with a working local app — a real, functional tool that shows how AI can be applied in practice.
Who is this for?
Anyone who can run Python scripts and wants to start building practical, product-focused AI tools — whether you're a developer, analyst, automation specialist, or just curious.
What to Bring

• A laptop (macOS, Windows, or Linux)
• Python installed and some libraries installed (setup guide will be sent beforehand)
• A real-world problem you’d like to explore — email data is ideal but any text classification will work.

To Attend
Numbers will be capped so please only RSVP if you can come. Do sign up for the waitlist as if enough do I can try run a second session.

To help tailor the session and keep the group focused, please send 2–3 sentences on messages here about what kind of problem you'd like to solve using text classification.
(Don’t overthink it — just a quick note)
About the Instructor
David Curran has developed natural language tools for companies including Mercedes, Orange Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Travelsky, helping customer care and back-office teams use AI where it actually matters.