AI Workshops

D-Lab's AI Workshops 

We help the Berkeley campus community learn how to use AI tools and research workflows, inclusive of best practices in ethics and evaluation. Whether you’re a student, faculty, or staff member, our goal is to help you get hands‑on with AI in a way that’s approachable, transparent, and geared toward real outcomes.

Featured Workshops

  • Demystifying AI. An engaging, non‑technical introduction to core concepts behind modern tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Learn the basics of AI, machine learning, and neural networks, explore what these tools can—and can’t—do, and review ethical considerations for responsible use. Prerequisites: none.

  • Python APIs for Large Language Models. A 2‑hour workshop that walks beginners through how to set up and make calls to large language models using Python. Learn authentication, formatting requests and handling structured outputs – essential skills for integrating LLMs into research projects! Prerequisites: D-Lab's Python Fundamentals.
  • Prompt Engineering. Designed for beginners, this 1‑hour session explores how to communicate effectively with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini. Discover prompting techniques and troubleshooting strategies to improve the outputs you get. Prerequisites: none.
  • Python GPT Fundamentals. Get a conceptual grip on the GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformers) model that underpins chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude. Learn about the transformer architecture upon which GPT models are built, how transformer models encode natural language into embeddings, and how GPT predicts text. Prerequisites: D-Lab Python Fundamentals.
  • LLMs for Exploratory Research. Explore how researchers can use LLMs as part of early-stage exploration. We’ll compare different chatbot tools, discuss best practices for using them in academic contexts, and introduce evaluation heuristics to assess output quality. Great for anyone considering research use cases for AI. Prerequisites: none.
  • AI‑Assisted Coding in Python. A 2‑hour hands‑on workshop showing how GitHub Copilot can help you write Python code faster. Includes setup in Visual Studio Code and practical examples. Ideal for researchers writing scripts or analyzing data. Prerequisites: D-Lab Python Fundamentals.
  • AI‑Assisted Coding in R. The R counterpart to the Python version: learn how to install and use GitHub Copilot in VS Code to assist R programming. We introduce Copilot features and discuss what AI assistants can—and can’t—help with. Prerequisites: D-Lab R Fundamentals.

Why Attend?

  • Designed for newcomers: no coding or AI experience needed.

  • Hands‑on exercises that mirror real research or coursework scenarios.

  • Practical tool training: learn to use and evaluate tools you can immediately apply.

  • Learn about responsible, ethical use of AI from day one.

Drop us questions or let us know what other workshop formats would help you most—whether you’re curious about hands‑on use, research applications, or best practices in AI adoption across campus: dlab-frontdesk@berkeley.edu