Lesson 01
30 min read · Beginner
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is the broad field of building computer systems that perform tasks associated with intelligence.
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Free Curriculum · 10 Comprehensive Lessons
Local AI 101
A structured introduction to artificial intelligence, neural networks, language models, computer hardware, and local inference. Understand what happens from first principles when an AI model runs on your personal computer.
Course Curriculum
All 10 Lessons in Local AI 101
Progress through each lesson in sequence to build a rock-solid mental model of modern AI and on-device execution.
Lesson 02
35 min read · Beginner
AI vs Machine Learning vs Deep Learning
Understand the difference between artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning, with clear examples, diagrams, and hardware implications.
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Lesson 03
40 min read · Beginner
What Is Generative AI?
Generative AI produces new text, images, audio, code or other output from patterns learned during training.
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Lesson 04
45 min read · Beginner
What Is an AI Model?
An AI model is a trained mathematical system whose learned parameters transform input into predictions or generated output.
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Lesson 05
68 min read · Beginner
Training vs Inference
Training changes a model’s parameters; inference uses the trained model to produce an output.
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Lesson 06
80 min read · Beginner to intermediate
What Is a Neural Network?
A neural network is a layered mathematical system that learns useful transformations from data.
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Lesson 07
83 min read · Beginner to intermediate
How Neural Networks Learn
Neural networks learn by measuring error and adjusting parameters to reduce that error across many examples.
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Lesson 08
53 min read · Beginner to intermediate
What Are Parameters and Weights?
Parameters are learned numerical values; weights are the parameters that control the strength of connections and transformations.
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Lesson 09
60 min read · Beginner to intermediate
What Is a Large Language Model?
A large language model predicts and generates sequences of tokens using a neural network trained on large text collections.
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Lesson 10
60 min read · Beginner to intermediate
What Is a Token?
A token is a unit of text that a language model converts into an ID before processing.
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Outcomes
What You Will Master
Foundational Understanding
Distinguish AI, classical machine learning, and multi-layer deep learning without marketing hype or confusion.
Neural Network Mechanics
Understand how neural networks train, adjust weights, and perform single-token autoregressive inference.
Hardware Demands
Learn why RAM, VRAM, and memory bandwidth dictate whether a model fits and runs at usable speeds on your PC.
Local Ecosystem
Understand GGUF quantization, inference runtimes (llama.cpp), and how Loco packages local models safely.