Cultivated AI · Part One · what to bring
This is a hands-on workshop. Everyone works on their own laptop, on their own real tasks. The setup is light, but please do it before Session 1, so the first hour is spent learning, not logging in.
Pick one of the three big assistants and have it signed in. Paid is great, the free tier is genuinely fine for the workshop.
Sign in and confirm it works before you arrive. Claude (claude.ai) or Gemini (gemini.google.com) are both excellent. Any one of the three is enough to follow the exercises. For the extension build in Session 2 you also need a Google account, because that lab runs on Google AI Studio (aistudio.google.com, free). Sign in there once before you arrive. The skill lab uses Claude's skill creator, which needs a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max or Team); on a free plan or another AI you will save your skill as a Project or a Gem instead.
The Pro tier removes the tight usage caps and unlocks the strongest models, which makes the labs smoother. Worth it for the two weeks, not a requirement.
Any one assistant on its free plan. You can do every exercise, just with usage limits.
One Pro subscription (Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini). No caps, best models, smoother labs.
A paid main plus a second free account, so you can practise cross-checking the same task across models (Principle 11).
Mac or Windows, both fine. You will be typing, comparing windows side by side, and editing real documents. A phone won't keep up.
In Session 2 everyone builds a Chrome extension and loads it into their own browser. Download it free from google.com/chrome if you don't have it.
Two hours of live work per session. Bring the charger, and check you can reach the AI sites on the venue network.
The exercises are only as good as the material you bring. This is what turns the workshop into something you keep using.
The same three you'll name in the pre-workshop questionnaire. We build your first skills from these.
A report, email, or deck. Anonymise anything sensitive first. We rebuild it with you, live.
No coding experience. No prior AI experience. No special software beyond a browser and one account. If you can write an email and use a spreadsheet, you have everything you need to keep up. We handle the rest in the room.