Generative AI has elevated AI into the mainstream and made it the topic of dinner-table conversations everywhere. Large Language Models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 and Gemini Flash and locally hosted Small Language Models (SLMs) such as Llama enable software to do things that weren’t possible a few years ago, from answering natural-language questions to generating charts and graphs from verbal descriptions. They can also be extended to call external APIs and access databases, and fine-tuned with domain knowledge. Moreover, they provide the foundation for autonomous AI agents that work on your behalf to carry out complex tasks.
Are you looking for an on-ramp into AI? Curious to learn how to infuse AI into your apps and business processes and come away with lots of sample code to use in your next project? Bring your laptop and take a deep dive into generative AI in this hands-on workshop. Learn what LLMs and SLMs are, how they work, how to put them over documents and databases, how to extend them, how to fine-tune them, how to use them to build state-of-the-art virtual assistants and autonomous agents, and more.
Module 1: Language Models Large and Small
Large Language Models (LLMs) are a boon to software development because they permit apps to do things that were impossible just a few short years ago. The number of LLMs is increasing every day. Get up close and personal with LLMs from OpenAI, Google, and others, learn what differentiates one from another, and learn how to leverage these models to write software that’s more intelligent than ever before. Also see some of the industry’s best open-source Small Language Models (SLMs) in action so you can decide whether an LLM or SLM best fits your workload.
Module 2: Making Language Models Smarter
If you’re making API calls to Large Language Models and doing little more than adjusting a parameter or two between calls, you’re not getting everything you can from AI. Learn ways to supercharge your LLM usage, including how to extend LLMs with function calling, how to put LLMs over databases, how to safely and dynamically generate and execute code, how to use fine-tuning to increase performance while reducing cost and producing higher-quality results, and more.
Module 3: Building AI Assistants and Autonomous Agents
OpenAI’s Assistants API lets you build rich, interactive virtual assistants. Imagine AI that can book appointments on a calendar, query a database, produce charts and graphics, prioritize support tickets, retrieve information from internal document stores, generate spreadsheets, and even run code. Agentic frameworks such as AutoGen, CrewAI, and Phidata go even further and facilitate autonomous AI agents that can work independently or in concert to execute complex tasks. Learn how to put intelligent assistants and agents to work in your business and see some jaw-dropping examples.
All engineers looking for an on-ramp into AI.
Bring your laptop and take a deep dive into generative AI in this hands-on workshop.
