Beginner-first · production finish · work you can prove

Learn AI clearly. Then build something that can survive reality.

Start with plain-language foundations, build a tested professional prompt system, create a working agent you can talk to, then connect tools, data, automation, deployment, security, and operations into one real AI product.

Start the free course →See what you build
Live Claude Bot LabServer-verified progressPrivate by default
AI Builder · available now
$149 one time
Build, Connect & Deploy

Build and publish a working Claude-powered agent, then finish with one deployed AI system that uses real tools or governed data and passes a production test set.

15 hrguided work
37course items
12system artifacts
Production blueprint9 / 12 built
First working milestone
Claude-powered Bot Lab
Build · chat · break · revise · publish
The honest program ladder

Start where you are. Stop pretending one course teaches everything.

Each level has one promise, one clear finish line, and proof tied to work the learner actually completed.

Step 1 · available now
AI Without the Jargon
Free

Understand what AI is, where it helps, how it fails, how to stay safe, and how to complete a first guided mission with VOLT.

Step 2 · available now
Prompting Like a Professional
$49 one-time

Create a tested prompt operating system for specifications, examples, chains, decisions, evaluation, templates, and governance.

Step 3 · available now
AI Builder: Build, Connect & Deploy
$149 one-time · cumulative access

Build a working Claude-powered agent, then extend the same production discipline into tools, APIs, knowledge, webhooks, automation, deployment, observability, and security.

Proof before praise

What leaves the Academy with you.

These are required learner deliverables already built into the product—not invented testimonials, future promises, or decorative mockups.

01 · Starter artifact

Ten-prompt operating playbook

A reusable library built from five saved labs: specifications, chains, decisions, evaluation, templates, evidence rules, and governance.

10 assetsexportableinstructor reviewed
02 · First live build

Published Claude-powered bot

A working public bot with a mission, system prompt, explicit boundaries, approved knowledge, real conversations, a failure record, and a tested revision.

live link5+ chatshostile test
03 · Production blueprint

Twelve operating artifacts

Architecture, behavior contract, tool and data contracts, knowledge plan, automation runbook, security boundaries, observability, rollback, and launch evidence.

6 saved labs12 artifactsprivate by default
04 · Final proof

Deployed-system capstone

A live or reproducible AI system using a real tool or governed data source, defended with a 100-point rubric and normal, edge, hostile, and failure tests.

live URL8+ testsverified credential

Real graduate examples and testimonials will appear only after learners explicitly approve publication. Until then, the Academy shows the exact work required rather than pretending outcomes already exist.

Five-module Starter curriculum

Learn it. Test it. Save it. Prove it.

MODULE 01
Prompt Specifications & Examples

Turn vague requests into measurable briefs, examples, boundaries, and output contracts.

MODULE 02
Chaining Real Work

Break complex work into inspectable stages with evidence-preserving handoffs.

MODULE 03
Reasoning You Can Verify

Build decision records, uncertainty rules, grounding, and red-team challenge prompts.

MODULE 04
Evaluation & Improvement

Use rubrics, test cases, controlled revisions, and fact-preserving critique.

MODULE 05
Your Prompt Operating System

Version, maintain, govern, export, and selectively publish a ten-prompt professional playbook.

Six-module Builder curriculum

Design it. Talk to it. Break it. Operate it.

Every module pairs clear instruction with required checks, a saved production lab, a server-graded scenario quiz, and evidence that feeds the final deployed-system capstone.

MODULE 01
Design the System

Bound one real job, choose the least-complex architecture, define state and approvals, and threat-model the first version.

MODULE 02
Behavior, Tools & Live Bot Lab

Write enforceable policy, then configure, test, revise, and publish a working Claude-powered agent.

MODULE 03
Knowledge, Retrieval & Data Boundaries

Connect approved evidence with provenance, permission filters, citations, freshness, and reproducible retrieval tests.

MODULE 04
APIs, Webhooks & Reliable Automation

Use server-side adapters, verified events, idempotency, bounded retries, queues, approvals, and human recovery.

MODULE 05
Deploy, Secure & Observe

Separate environments, protect secrets and tenants, trace quality and cost, release safely, roll back, and respond to incidents.

MODULE 06
Agent Coordination & Production Proof

Justify or reject multi-agent complexity, govern dispatch and shared state, and pass a real production acceptance test.

What production proof looks like

The capstone is an operating review, not a screenshot contest.

A passing build connects the product promise to reproducible technical and operational evidence.

1. BuildFirst publish the Academy bot, then deploy the primary capstone flow with a real external capability or governed source.
2. TestDocument at least eight normal, edge, hostile, and failure cases; pass at least six and fix every critical safety failure.
3. DefendShow architecture, state, permissions, approvals, observability, cost controls, rollback, and one real failure postmortem.
4. VerifyAn instructor scores the 100-point rubric, requests revisions when needed, and issues the credential only after approval.
Before you enroll

Clear answers. No inflated promise.

Is the Academy only for children or technical people?
Neither. The explanations are clear enough for a true beginner, while the labs, evidence standards, architecture, security, and production work are designed to remain valuable for adults, professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, and aspiring builders.
What does the $49 Starter purchase include?
One-time access to Prompting Like a Professional: five modules, twenty instructional lessons, five saved labs, five scenario quizzes, forty inline checks, seven downloadable tools, ten reusable prompt assets, an instructor-reviewed capstone, and a publicly verifiable credential after approval.
What does the $149 AI Builder purchase include?
One-time cumulative Academy access, including the earlier paid level and AI Builder: six modules, twenty-four deep lessons, one verified live Bot Lab, six saved production labs, six server-graded scenario quizzes, seven builder templates, a structured deployed-system capstone, instructor review, revision, and a verifiable AI Builder credential after approval.
Will students actually build and talk to a bot?
Yes. The live Bot Lab uses Claude Haiku 4.5 through a protected Tech Runners server function. Students define the bot mission, instructions, boundaries, and knowledge; hold real conversations; test normal, unknown, boundary, hostile, and failure cases; revise what breaks; and publish the bot to a working Academy link.
Do students need their own Claude subscription or API key?
No. Tech Runners supplies a governed Bot Lab message allowance. The Anthropic key remains server-side and never appears in the learner browser. Usage is rate-limited so students can learn and interact without opening a separate model account.
Do I need coding experience for AI Builder?
You do not need to begin as a professional developer, but AI Builder is a real intermediate build program. It explains APIs, webhooks, schemas, authentication, deployment, security, observability, and state in plain language, then requires you to apply them. You must be willing to work through technical steps, use builder tools or code, test failures, and deploy a functioning system.
Does AI Builder require a multi-agent system?
No. The advanced decision may be to keep one governed workflow because it is safer, faster, cheaper, and easier to operate. Multiple agents are required only when distinct roles, tools, permissions, context, or independent evaluation create measurable value.
Can I pass AI Builder with a polished demo video?
No. The Bot Lab verifies real conversations and revision evidence. The final capstone also requires a live or reproducible deployed system, a real external tool or governed data source, architecture and operating evidence, security and approval controls, at least eight normal/edge/hostile/failure tests, observability, cost controls, rollback, and one honest failure postmortem.
Will my private system or data become public?
No. Student work is private by default. Learners choose whether to publish their basic Bot Lab agent. Evidence must be sanitized, and secrets, customer data, private production records, and instructor notes must never be published. Credentials may be publicly verified without exposing the private build.
Start with the right level

Begin free. Build foundations. Ship when the evidence is ready.

Create your account, complete the free foundations, inspect every paid syllabus, and upgrade only when the next finish line is worth it.

Start free →Review AI Builder