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AI 100: Fundamentals
An introduction to the world of artificial intelligence. Learn how LLMs and neural networks work so you can understand how to defend or exploit them.
Training for a team or organization? Contact us about group access.
Inside the Course
Scroll down to explore the skills you’ll build, the techniques you’ll master, and the requirements to get started.
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Difficulty: Introductory
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Duration: 4h
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Access: Free
Overview
This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of AI including neural networks and transformer large language models (LLMs). Beginning with the math behind neural networks and how they are trained, students will learn how these networks are used for natural language processing and the architecture of modern transform LLMs, providing a full picture of how neural networks and LLMs actually work. This course does not focus on how to use AI tools.
By the end of this course, students will have a foundational understanding of how AI models work. You’ll practice by using Ollama to self-host your own local LLM.
This course is the first step to diving deeper into AI security, including how to penetration test AI models and applications or how to design and implement secure AI applications.
Key Topics
- What is a neural network and how do they function
- Designing, implementing, and training your own basic neural network
- Transformer LLM architecture including encoder/decoder, encoder only, and decoder only
- How LLMs function internally
- Setting up and interacting with your own local LLMs
Objectives
Learn How Neural Networks Function:
- Understand the basics of how neural networks function and are trained.
Learn How Large Language Models Work:
- Understand the inner workings of LLMs.
How to Host Your Own AI Models:
- Learn how to host and run your own local AI models.
System Requirements
- A computer with the ability to run a virtual machine (VMWare or Virtual Box)
- 16 GB of RAM (however 32 is recommended)
- At least 100GB of free storage space for virtual machine installation and to install local models
Prerequisites
The following courses or the equivalent knowledge from them is suggested prior to taking this course.
Recommended For
This course is designed for anyone who is interested in how AI works under the hood. It will be especially beneficial for developers or security practitioners who are looking to work with AI models, either in designing secure AI applications or performing penetration tests against AI models or applications. The course will give students the requisite knowledge of how the internals of AI works so that they can understand the limitations and security risks associated with it.
Course Curriculum
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Course Intro
- Course Intro
- 🖥️Virtual Machine Setup
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Intro to Neural Networks
- 🖥️How do Neural Networks Work Part 1
- 🖥️How do Neural Networks Work Part 2
- 🖥️Neural Network Training Lab Part 1
- 🖥️Neural Network Training Lab Part 2
- Section Recap
- ✏️Check-In Quiz
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Intro to Natural Language Processing
- What is NLP?
- Representing Words as Vectors and word2vec
- 🖥️Word2vec Lab
- Neural Network Bigram and Trigram
- 🖥️Neural Network Bigram Lab
- Recurrent Neural Networks
- 🖥️Recurrent Neural Networks Lab
- ✏️Check-In Quiz
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Introduction to Large Language Models
- Intro to LLMs
- Transformer Decoder Architecture
- 🖥️LLM Attention Lab
- How LLM Attention Works
- ✏️Check-In Quiz
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Self-Hosting LLMs
- Section Intro
- 🖥️Ollama
- 🖥️Interacting with the Ollama API
- System Prompts
- 🖥️System Prompt Lab
- Temperature and Top-p
- 🖥️Temperature and Top-p Lab
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Course Outro
- Course Outro
This Course Is Included in Your All-Access Membership
One membership gives you ongoing access to AI 100: Fundamentals, every other paid Academy course, and an active community of learners and mentors in Discord.
INSTRUCTORS
Meet Your Instructor
Learn from industry experts with real-world cybersecurity experience.
Andrew Bellini
Welcome Everyone! My name is Andrew Bellini and I sometimes go as DigitalAndrew on social media. I’m an electrical engineer by trade with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and am a licensed Professional Engineer (P. Eng) in Ontario, Canada. While my background and the majority of my career has been in electrical engineering, I am also an avid and passionate ethical hacker. In addition to being an instructor I am also a longtime student of TCM, and their courses helped me transition my career to working as a technical trainer for a cybersecurity company.
In addition to my love for all things ethical hacking, cybersecurity, CTFs and tech I also am a dad, play guitar and am passionate about the outdoors and fishing.
Prepare for the Practical AI Pentest Associate (PAPA) Exam
By the end of this course, students will be prepared to take on the Practical AI Pentest Associate (PAPA) certification exam. The PAPA exam will assess a student’s ability to perform a penetration test on an agentic AI application at an associate level.
Students will have two (2) full days to complete the assessment and an additional two (2) days to write a professional report.
FAQS
Common Questions
Here are a couple of our most commonly asked questions, contact us if you don’t find an answer!
Can I get a refund if I'm unhappy with my purchase?
Yes. All courses come with a 24-hour money-back guarantee.
Will I receive a certificate of completion when I finish a course?
Yes. All courses come with a certificate of completion.
Do the courses count as Continuing Education Units (CEUs)?
Yes. Every certificate of completion comes with the total CEUs earned listed on the certificate.
What is the All-Access Membership?
As of July 1st, 2023 TCM Academy transitioned to a monthly subscription model, where you now receive full access to all of the courses on our platform for as long as your subscription remains active.
What if you already own courses on TCM Academy?
If you already own a course on our platform, you will continue to own that course. Previously owned courses will not be affected by this change.
I can see the course, but it won’t load or play. What should I do?
We use Cloudflare to protect our course platform and unfortunately, it does not play nice with VPNs. If you are experiencing issues, turn off your VPN and try again. If that does not solve the issue, please contact our support team at support@tcm-sec.com and we will help you out.
This course is included in our All-Access Membership, starting at $29.99/month.
Get full access to this course and our full course catalog when you enroll in our All-Access Membership.
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