AI foundations: from curious to confident - Christchurch

Curious about AI but not sure where to start? AI foundations is a full day for people new to the technology, with no prior experience needed.

Over six hours and seven stops, you'll build a clear picture of how today's AI tools work, get set up on ChatGPT and Claude, and use them on your own real tasks. In the afternoon you'll draft a first version of your AI policy and leave with a prioritised plan for where AI will save you time first.

What you'll take away

• Working accounts and settings in ChatGPT and Claude, set up the way you'll actually use them.

• A prompting framework you can apply to any task, plus a handful of everyday prompts worth keeping.

• A simple test for what's safe to put into an AI tool, and what isn't.

• A first draft of an AI policy, and a clear plan for your next 90 days.

Who it's for

Anyone in the Christchurch community who wants to start using AI properly. Small business owners, managers, professionals, educators, retirees and creatives all welcome. If you've never opened ChatGPT, you're in exactly the right place. If you've already dabbled, the day will turn scattered experiments into a working system.

What to bring

A laptop, and one task from your week you'd happily hand off to someone else. We'll do the rest.

Your presenter

J Norness is a fractional AI Officer working with businesses across New Zealand and Australia, and a volunteer lead trainer for the Nelson AI Sandbox. He has trained more than 1,100 people in the past two years, from sole operators to executive teams. His sessions are hands-on, vendor neutral and free of hype.

About the AI Sandbox

The AI Sandbox is a not-for-profit community initiative based in Nelson and Christchurch. Our mission is to empower and educate the community in the use of AI, making the technology accessible to everyone, at whatever pace suits. Find us at aisandbox.org.nz.