AI in the Real World: A Pragmatic Approach
Taking inspiration from the long history around the world of folk education, particularly the Scandinavian and Appalachian traditions, this course is designed to offer a fun, affordable and rigorous experience–that serves the needs of working adults.
Like all folk education, liberation and movement building is at the core of the course. We save ourselves together–and we educate ourselves to build solidarity, share tactics, and create a shared vision for a better future for all of us.
There’s no grades, no assessments, no credentials.
This is about learning for the love of learning and the love of each other.
Your Instructor
Allyn Robins is the AI Lead at the Brainbox Institute, a New-Zealand based tech policy consultancy and think tank with a global profile. Prior to starting with Brainbox he worked as an intelligence analyst at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he founded the Emerging Technologies portfolio and played a key role in coordinating efforts to enable New Zealand to navigate an increasingly technologically sophisticated world. He is a highly sought-after tech expert, offering insightful commentary on AI and other tech issues for leading media outlets like BusinessDesk Pro, Stuff, and Lawfare.
Session dates and times
This class meets online once a week for activities and discussion. If you can’t make it, we will seek consent from the group to record and share the lecture.
- This course starts on 31 August and runs through 12 October
- Wednesday afternoons we will release the pre-recorded lecture for the following week.
- On Fridays at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern/7pm Central/Saturdays at 12pm NZST Thursday NZST we will meet on Zoom. These sessions will vary each week and include discussions, activities, and guest lecturers.
Course Tools
- Zoom, links will be sent out via email shortly before each class session begins
- Signal (optional)
We will be offering an optional “tech support session” early in the course so that you can ask questions, get help with Signal, and try out the tech tools we will be using.
Please come along if you need any help feeling comfortable with the tools we are using. If you aren’t comfortable with technology, please don’t worry! We will be happy to help you out and work to increase your comfort level.
Model for Each Week and Expectations
Each week will include a ~20-minute pre-recorded lecture and a 90-minute Zoom class session to discuss the material and engage in hands-on activities related to the course material.
We will also provide a list of resources including readings, podcasts, and videos for each week. You can choose to engage with these as we go along or save them for later.
Our goal is to provide readings at a range of levels—if you struggle with reading or have other literacy barriers, you should still find plenty of learning material for you.
You don’t have to be a reader to participate and we aim not to privilege those with better literacy skills.
You are good enough as you are.