A free short course
AI Confidence 101
Seven short, plain-English lessons on using artificial intelligence in everyday life — on your own terms. For the curious and the skeptical alike. No jargon. No prerequisites. Nothing to buy.
What this is
AI is already sitting between you and your bank, your doctor’s portal, your family’s photographs, and the news you read. This course takes the mystery out of it — what these tools actually are, what they are genuinely useful for, how to talk to them, and how to keep your guard exactly where it belongs.
Each lesson is a five-minute read with one thing to try. You can finish the whole course over a week of coffees, or in one sitting.
No acronyms, no hype. If a term matters, it is explained the way a good neighbor would.
Every lesson ends with a small, real task — because the confidence comes from doing, not reading.
Scam protection, the family safe word, and what never to type into any chatbot.
The seven lessons
- Why now — and the microwave mindset
You can use this well without understanding how it works.
- Meet the five free assistants
ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity — and how to pick one.
- Use the right tool for the job
Trustworthy answers, your own documents, travel, everyday life.
- The magic formula for asking
Who · What · What it should know · How — and the one trick that changes everything.
- Everyday wins
The baffling letter, the difficult email, the grandchild’s poem.
- Staying safe
Voice-cloning scams, the family safe word, and the postcard rule.
- Make something you are proud of
Your small capstone, and where to keep learning — free.
Stay connected
All seven lessons are open — start anywhere, though they build best in order. For occasional writing on this technology and much else, follow along free at suemukherjee.substack.com. And if a lesson raises a question, write me any time: sue@suemukherjee.com. I read every note.
Who is teaching this
I am Sue Mukherjee. I have spent more than twenty years in higher education and workforce strategy — most recently helping institutions navigate exactly the kind of technological shift this course is about. By profession I advise college presidents and boards; by conviction I believe this technology should not belong only to the people who build it.
This course began as a coffee conversation with neighbors in Laurel Beach, Milford, Connecticut. It stays free.
Sue Mukherjee, Ph.D.
sue@suemukherjee.com · suemukherjee.substack.com