Two Hands-On Workshops at All Things Open AI

We’ll host two amazing hands-on workshops on Monday, March 17, which is day one of the All Things Open AI event.

The first, Desktop Productivity/AI SuperUser Bootcamp, is a 101-level one-day intensive program where you’ll gain the skills, strategies, and confidence to harness the power of AI.

The second, GenAI RAG Workshop, is an immersive, 300-level full-day training designed for engineers seeking to harness the power of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) for AI-driven solutions. 

Also, both have been priced very affordably given the content being covered and the value returned. *Note, a lunch ticket is included with the cost.

We sincerely hope you’ll take a look and join us on Monday, March 17!

Register Now

Workshop #1 – $199 USD

Desktop Productivity/AI SuperUser Bootcamp
Become a ChatGPT SuperUser & Build AI Agents for 2025
Instructor: Mark Hinkle

Summary
Are you overwhelmed by the rapid evolution of AI and struggling to keep up with its potential? Do you feel like you’re just scratching the surface of what tools like ChatGPT and AI agents can do? The gap between casual users and AI superusers widens as AI transforms industries and workflows.

Missing out on this revolution means falling behind competitors already leveraging AI for innovation and efficiency. Spending just six hours in our AIOS AI Super User Bootcamp will yield at least an order of magnitude in time savings this year as you master AI tools and techniques. Where you’ll gain the skills, strategies, and confidence to harness the power of AI.

Learn to create effective prompts, integrate top AI tools, and even design AI agents to maximize your productivity and decision-making.

Join us for a one-day intensive program where you’ll gain the skills, strategies, and confidence to harness the power of AI. Learn to create effective prompts, integrate top AI tools, and even design AI agents to maximize your productivity and decision-making.

About the Instructor

Mark Hinkle has over 30 years of experience in technology, open source, and enterprise software. He served in executive roles at Citrix and The Linux Foundation, spearheading innovative programs in cloud computing, DevOps, and early internet usage. Over the past two years, he has trained thousands of professionals on how to use AI for real-world impact—ranging from beginners to C-suite executives.

Mark publishes TheAIE.net, a newsletter network with more than 250,000 subscribers dedicated to working smarter with AI. He also founded and organizes the RDU AI Group, which has grown to more than 1,800 members. Alongside his training for billion-dollar enterprises seeking to adopt AI strategies, Mark is frequently engaged by corporations looking to upskill their workforce, leveraging his deep expertise in early technology adoption to deliver actionable results.

  • Acquire practical skills that can save substantial time in daily operations
  • Understand essential AI concepts and tools without technical jargon
  • Receive direct guidance on prompt engineering, tool selection, and AI agent design
  • Collaborate with peers through interactive exercises and expert-led demonstrations

  • Strategies for integrating AI into existing workflows
  • Methods to craft clear, goal-oriented prompts that yield results
  • Knowledge of industry-leading AI applications and how to implement them
  • Techniques for building and refining AI agents to address specific business needs

  • Morning Sessions: Foundations of AI, ethical considerations, and effective prompt engineering
  • Afternoon Sessions: Advanced AI tools for business, building AI agents, and step-by-step demonstrations

Attendees will leave with actionable knowledge, confidence in using AI for various business challenges, and a roadmap for ongoing AI adoption. This course suits knowledge workers seeking tangible skills to apply in any professional setting.

Enroll now to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving environment. Join us for a focused day that delivers long-term gains in productivity and innovative approaches to problem-solving.

This will be an auditorium style seating so you may want to bring your laptop, tablet or phone as well as something to take notes with. It will be extremely helpful to have a ChatGPT subscription as well as the app on your mobile device. We will furnish materials after the course for those interested in providing feedback.

1. Introduction (9:00 AM – 9:15 AM)

  • Welcome remarks
  • Overview of the day’s agenda
  • Icebreaker: “Your Current AI Use Case”

2. Understanding AI (9:15 AM – 10:00 AM)

  • Brief history of AI and its impact
  • Importance of data
  • Ethics and considerations
  • Q&A (10 minutes)

3. ChatGPT Overview (10:00 AM – 10:45 AM)

  • Capabilities and limitations of ChatGPT
  • Potential business use cases
  • Inspiring innovation with practical scenarios

4. Prompt Engineering for Knowledge Workers (10:45 AM – 12:00 PM)

  • Elements of a good prompt
  • Using markdown for structuring queries
  • Overview of Claude by Anthropic
  • Testing prompts with Anthropic Workbench
  • Hands-on exercises

Lunch Break (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)

5. How I Craft Effective Prompts (1:00 PM – 1:30 PM)

  • Melanie McGlaughlin’s approach to clarity and specificity
  • Live demonstration
  • Q&A session

6. Advanced AI Applications for Business (1:30 PM – 3:00 PM)

  • Overview of tools (Jasper, Notion AI, Grammarly)
  • Case studies of enterprise AI
  • Tips for integrating AI into workflows

Coffee Break (3:00 PM – 3:30 PM)

7. Creating AI Agents (3:30 PM – 4:30 PM)

  • Intro to AI agents and automation
  • Designing and building an agent from scratch
  • Datasets and training models for specialization
  • Live demonstration of a basic AI agent
  • Best practices for monitoring and optimization

8. Recap and Closing (4:30 PM)

  • Recap of key learnings
  • Resources for continued learning
  • Feedback session
  • Distribution of certificates

Workshop #2 – $399 USD

300-level GenAI RAG Workshop
Instructor: John WIllis 

Summary
The “GenAI RAG Workshop” is an immersive, full-day training designed for engineers seeking to harness the power of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for AI-driven solutions. Participants will explore foundational concepts, including embeddings, vector databases, and advanced RAG techniques while delving into practical applications of tools like MongoDB Atlas Vector Search. Through a blend of lectures and hands-on labs, this workshop equips attendees with the skills to effectively design, implement, and evaluate RAG pipelines, focusing on optimizing AI systems for precision, scalability, and relevance. By the end of the session, participants will understand how to integrate RAG with cutting-edge vector database tools and frameworks to enhance AI-driven workflows.

About the Instructor

John Willis has worked in the IT management industry for more than 35 years and is a prolific author, including “Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge” and “The DevOps Handbook.” He is researching DevOps, DevSecOps, IT risk, modern governance, and audit compliance. Previously he was an Evangelist at Docker Inc., VP of Solutions for Socketplane (sold to Docker) and Enstratius (sold to Dell), and VP of Training & Services at Opscode where he formalized the training, evangelism, and professional services functions at the firm. Willis also founded Gulf Breeze Software, an award winning IBM business partner, which specializes in deploying Tivoli technology for the enterprise. Willis has authored six IBM Redbooks for IBM on enterprise systems management and was the founder and chief architect at Chain Bridge Systems.

Session 1: Introduction to RAG

  • Definition and Core Concepts of RAG
    • Retrieval, Augmentation, and Generation Pipeline Overview
    • Importance and applications of RAG in AI
  • Benefits of RAG for enhancing context and accuracy in AI responses

Session 2: Embeddings and Vector Databases

  • Understanding Embeddings
    • Overview of embedding models (e.g., BERT, Word2Vec)
    • Visualization and optimization of embeddings
  • Introduction to Vector Databases
    • ChromaDB and MongoDB Atlas Vector Search as a vector database solution
    • Data chunking, embedding storage, and indexing in vector databases
  • Vector Search Algorithms
    • Hierarchical Navigable Small World Graphs (HNSW) and its role in RAG

Session 3: Implementing Naive and Advanced RAG Systems

  • Naive RAG
    • Simple implementations with minimal augmentation
    • Case studies and examples
  • Advanced RAG Techniques
    • Metadata utilization
    • Query expansion and reranking
    • Synthetic data generation and red-teaming for robustness

Session 4: RAG Assessment Frameworks

  • Introduction to Ragas for RAG Pipeline Evaluation
    • Critical metrics for assessing quality and relevance
    • Practical steps for metrics-driven development
  • Observability in RAG Systems
    • Tools and techniques for monitoring and debugging
    • Identifying hallucinations, bias, and toxicity in responses

Session 5: Hands-On Labs

  • Lab 1: Embedding Creation and Visualization
  • Lab 2: Building a Vector Database with MongoDB Atlas
  • Lab 3: Deploying a Basic RAG Workflow
  • Lab 4: Evaluating RAG Systems with Ragas

Session 6: Advanced RAG in Practice

  • Case Studies and Applications
    • Integrating RAG with enterprise workflows
    • Taking RAG to production with MongoDB and other tools
  • Best Practices for Scalable and Reliable RAG Implementations

Closing

  • Summary of Key Learnings
  • Q&A Session and Networking

This agenda ensures participants leave with a comprehensive understanding of RAG systems, practical experience deploying them, and insights into effectively leveraging MongoDB Atlas Vector Search.