Build Your First AI Prototype: Ollama and Prompt Engineering Fundamentals

Learn to build AI-powered prototypes from scratch! Master essential model skills through hands-on practice with Ollama and prompt engineering - minimal coding required.

Workshop Structure

Part I: Essential Skills for AI Prototyping Before building any prototype, you need two fundamental skills:

• Ollama Mastery: Learn to run and manage large language models locally - the foundation for rapid prototyping without cloud costs or restrictions
• Prompt Engineering: Master the techniques for shaping AI behavior through effective instructions - the key to making your prototypes actually useful

Part II: Start Your First AI Prototype Apply your new skills immediately by beginning your literary assistant prototype:

• Prototype Concept: A "Literary Lounge" AI that can discuss short stories with deeper understanding than generic LLMs such as ChatGPT
• First Iteration Goals: Get a basic version running with enhanced knowledge of 10-25 short stories drawn from Edgar Allan Poe, Hermann Melville etc.
• Prototyping Process: Learn the build-test-refine cycle that AI developers use
• Future Sessions Preview: See how we'll expand this prototype with more stories, better responses, and eventually a user interface

### What You'll Learn:

• A workflow AI prototyping from idea to implementation
• How to rapidly test and iterate on AI behavior
• Essential tools and techniques used by AI developers
• The skill of breaking down complex AI ideas into buildable prototypes
• How to evaluate and improve your prototype

### You'll Walk Away With:

• A working first version of your AI prototype
• Clear roadmap for improving your prototype in future sessions
• Hands-on experience with the prototyping cycle
• Confidence to start building your own AI project ideas
• Foundation skills that apply to any AI prototype you want to build

### Who Should Attend:

Perfect for absolute beginners who want to stop just using AI and start building with it. If you've ever had an idea for an AI tool but didn't know where to start, this workshop will show you exactly how to go from concept to working prototype.