Session 1 · 90 minutes

Make AI work for you

Today you find out how much better AI gets when you tell it what you want. You leave with your own assistant that knows who you are, and a project to build.

Challenges 35 min

For every challenge: first try a lazy prompt, then a better one. Compare. Post your best result in the chat.

1

Copy the photo 10 min

Mark shares a winning photo from the International Photography Awards. Make the same picture with AI (ChatGPT, Gemini or Canva).

  • Round 1: describe it in one sentence.
  • Round 2: add the subject, setting, light, camera angle, colours and mood.

Who gets closest?

2

You, somewhere else 5 min

Make an image of yourself in a job you want in 10 years, in a place you love. Upload a photo of yourself only if you're comfortable with that.

3

Catch the AI 10 min

Ask the AI to write 3 paragraphs about a topic you know really well: your hobby, your town, a game, a sport. Find at least 1 mistake or vague claim. Tell it what's wrong and ask it to fix it.

AI sounds sure, also when it's wrong. You are the editor.

4

The good prompt 10 min

Try the lazy prompt first:

Write an Instagram post about Slănic.

Then the good one. Change the parts in brackets:

You are a social media writer for [a guesthouse in Slănic].
Goal: [get young tourists from Bucharest to book a weekend].
Audience: [students and young couples, 20 to 30].
Tone: [friendly, a bit funny, no clichés].
Format: [Instagram post, max 80 words, 3 hashtags].
Example of a post I like: [paste one].
Ask me 3 questions before you start.

The recipe: role + goal + audience + tone + format + example + "ask me questions first".

Your "about me" file 25 min

Typing the same context every time gets old fast. So you write it once, and the AI reads it in every chat.

  1. Copy the template below and fill it in. Short answers are fine.
  2. In ChatGPT: Projects → New project → Instructions, paste it there. In Gemini: Gems → New Gem → Instructions.
  3. Test it: ask "What should I learn this year?" once inside the project and once in a normal chat. Compare.
# About me

## Who I am
- Name:
- Age and school year:
- Where I live:
- Languages I speak (and how well):

## What I'm good at
- 3 things people ask my help with:
- Subjects or hobbies I know a lot about:

## What I want
- One goal for the next 3 months:
- One goal for the next year:
- Why I'm taking this course:

## How I want you to answer
- Language: (for example: English, simple words)
- Length: (for example: short, bullet points, max 10 lines)
- Tone: (for example: direct, friendly, no flattery)
- Always: (for example: ask me a question if something is unclear)
- Never: (for example: write my school essays for me)

Don't put passwords, ID numbers, addresses or private details about other people in this file.

Pick your project 15 min

Look at the project ideas on the start page. Then ask your assistant:

Based on what you know about me, suggest 5 small projects I could sell to people around me within a month. For each one: who would pay, what they'd pay roughly, and what I'd need to make it. Start with the fastest one.

Homework

Ask 3 people: "Would you pay for this? How much?" Write down their exact words. You'll use them in session 2.