Kentro

OSS in AI-Assisted Software Development

Google

Microsoft

Eleanor Berger

AI Expert and Technology Leader (ex-Microsoft, ex-Google)

Why OSS is a powerful approach for the field

The significance of open-source in the AI coding space

Get a current snapshot of what's currently available and where things are heading

Survey of the OSS AI coding space

See a demo of a few of my favorite tools that I have tested and can recommend

Demo of recommended tools

The Problem: Scaling organizational expertise with generative AI saps the unique methodology and voice from your content.&nbsp; The Solution: Capture, automate and invigorate institutional knowledge with agentic systems by mastering a framework distilled from years of strategic AI consulting and development experience with Fortune 500 executives and think tanks. This is not just a course. This is a commitment of experts with a decade of combined experience building bespoke generative applications to transform your workflows and multiply the output of your unique methodologies. With unlimited one-on-one consultation opportunities during the course, proprietary chatbots trained on the learning content and a resource hub 3 years in the making, the extent of your learning is bordered only by the time you are willing to commit. We equip you with strategic frameworks to integrate generative AI in a way that preserves organizational culture and expertise while unlocking new dimensions of interactivity and personalization. Effective AI integration requires new collaboration frameworks between domain experts and technical teams — we teach you how to bridge this gap so expert knowledge translates into reliable, personalized AI outputs. Atop of this theoretical bedrock, we bring heavy focus on hands-on practice with the unglamorous but essential work for mastering generative tool deployment: data plumbing, iterative evaluation and stress-testing, collaborative prompt design and de-risking roll-outs through phased deployment. You will master the very frameworks we have been applying for half a decade for global consultancies and companies, walking away with a repeatable blueprint for scaling generative AI across the enterprise.

Transform Your Organization's Expertise Into AI-Powered Competitive Advantage

Course syllabus

Synchronous zoom lecture on Tuesday, focusing on the conceptual backbone of AI agent functionality and applications. Recordings of class will be available soon after its completion.

Tuesday

An async walkthrough will guide you in building functional prototypes of AI Agents. You will get to shape the project deliverable. Lecturers will be available by email, during office hours and via one-on-one sessions throughout the week for questions and support.

Weekly projects (async)

Optional office hours where you can ask questions and receive personal guidance on developing your AI applications.

Tuesday & Thursday

Schedule 1:1 coaching time with instructors for individualized help with your hands-on projects, privately thinking through a use-case, or whatever else you need.

1:1 Coaching

Course schedule

Executive Leaders who need to integrate AI strategically without disrupting operational excellence.

Project/Product Managers who want to guide cross-functional teams through AI integration projects

Intelligence Specialists who want to enhance data-driven decision making through custom AI applications and automated insights.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Master the end-to-end methodology from initial requirements to production launch, including risk assessment, phased implementation, and organizational adoption strategies that minimize disruption while maximizing competitive advantage

Strategic AI Integration Frameworks

Transform unstructured institutional knowledge like meeting transcripts, reports, and backlogs into agentic systems that prevent your expertise from walking out the door with the next turnover

Culture Capture From Unstructured Data

Design and implement human-in-the-loop evaluation systems and testing methodologies that ensure trust, relevance, and reliability

Quality Assurance and Evaluation Frameworks

Navigate technical tradeoffs across compliance, latency, and cost vectors while managing non-technical stakeholders through AI development cycles and scope definition

Strategic Decision-Making and Project Management

Update your awareness with strategic foresight and thorough ecosystem analysis of AI affordances in specific industries, domains and modalities, enabling informed investment decisions and long-term positioning

AI Ecosystem Intelligence and Future Planning

Codify and amplify the secret sauce of your organization with AI without losing your voice

Jeremy Kirshbaum

Lev Gorelov

Cohort 14

Cohort 15

If you're like many ambitious professionals, you're not new to AI. You use the tools, follow the news, and see the potential. Yet, you feel a persistent gap between your current usage and what's truly possible. You probably recognize these challenges: 1. Your AI usage feels ad-hoc. You can write impressive prompts and accomplish isolated tasks, but you lack a systematic way to build reliable, scalable solutions that integrate into complex workflows. You see impressive demos online but don't have a clear path to building them yourself. 2. You're struggling to distinguish signal from noise. The relentless stream of new models, research papers, and "ultimate guides" is impossible to keep up with. You worry that you're investing time in learning skills and tools that will become obsolete in a few months. You need a way to identify the foundational principles that last. 3. You see a massive career opportunity but aren't sure how to seize it. You don't just want to be a user of AI; you want to be the person who can confidently lead projects, architect solutions, and guide your team. You want to become the go-to expert, but you need a structured path to get there. If this sounds familiar, it's because you've moved beyond the beginner stage. You're ready to tackle the next set of challenges, and that is precisely where our course begins. It is built on a single yet prfound premise: the most effective way to master AI is to build with it. We teach you how to create practical applications and then connect them to the underlying research. This ensures you not only know how to build, but why your solutions work, allowing you to adapt to any new tool or model in the future. More importantly, building with AI energizes you to keep learning, develops your taste, and enables you to seize opportunities. What You Will Be Able to DoThis course is about acquiring practical capabilities. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1. Build and Deploy Functional AI Prototypes You will move from ad-hoc prompting to engineering reliable systems. You will learn to write code that integrates LLMs with other tools and data sources to solve real-world problems. Specifically:- Build a Q&amp;A bot over your own documents (e.g., Confluence, internal wikis) using AI native methods beyond RAG.- Create automated workflows, such as generating a weekly summary report from Jira tickets or processing inbound emails.- Connect AI to external tools and APIs to perform actions, moving beyond simple text generation.- Evaluate, debug and improve the output of LLMs in a systematic way. 2. Develop a Durable Framework for Learning New Concepts You will learn how to distinguish between temporary trends and fundamental principles. This will enable you to learn effectively, cut through the noise, and focus on what truly matters. Specifically:- Understand the core mechanics of LLMs, such as context windows and attention, and how they impact performance.- Confidently assess new AI models, papers, and tools to determine their actual value for your work.- Develop a first-principles approach to prompt engineering, moving beyond simple templates.Identify the inherent limitations of current AI (e.g., hallucination, reasoning failures) and design systems to mitigate them. 3. Become the Go-To AI Strategist in Your Role You will gain the confidence and clarity to lead. This course provides the structure to not only enhance your own work but also to guide your team and organization. Specifically:- Identify and scope high-value AI opportunities within your own business workflow.- Lead an AI project from an idea to a working prototype.- Clearly articulate the capabilities, costs, and limitations of a proposed GenAI solution to stakeholders.- Establish best practices for integrating AI into your team's existing processes. How You Will Learn: A System for MasteryOur course is a comprehensive system designed for deep, practical learning. It combines live instruction, hands-on application, and an extensive knowledge base to ensure you can build with confidence. 1. Live Sessions: The Core Framework Your learning is anchored by four hours of live sessions. These sessions are not about a collection of tricks; they are designed to give you a durable mental framework. We distill the most critical information on how AI works, teach you how to learn effectively in this rapidly changing field, and provide concrete principles to guide you from your first line of code to a functional application. The goal is to equip you to push through challenges and build with sound judgment. 2. Projects &amp; Office Hours: Real-World Application Knowledge is solidified through hands-on projects and direct support. You will work on building applications relevant to your daily work, pushing past self-imposed limitations to see what is truly possible. In our office hours, we provide personalized guidance to unblock you and demonstrate advanced problem-solving in real-time. We use cutting-edge tools like Cursor and Claude Code to build solutions live, showing you how to leverage the most powerful development workflows available today. 3. Reference Materials: A Library for Builders Your learning is supported by an extensive library of original materials. Developed with over 300 hours of effort and spanning more than 200 pages, this resource is your detailed guide for independent building. It is continuously updated to stay current. When you encounter a specific problem weeks or months after the course, this library is designed to give you the concrete answers and guidance you need to solve it. Join a Professional Network of 5,000+ AI BuildersYour enrollment includes lifetime access to our private network. This is a community for sharing technical solutions, discussing new research, and advancing your career alongside other serious practitioners. The community has a dedicated Q&amp;A section and we will answer your questions there even after the cohort. Ready to Build?We recommend the immersive experience of our cohort-based course. A self-paced version is also available if your schedule requires flexibility at https://www.superlinear.academy/c/ai/. All Maven students receive complimentary access to the self-paced version, and lifetime update of new course materials. Who This Course Is Not ForWe are committed to transformative outcomes, which means being transparent about who will get the most value from this demanding program. This course may not be the right fit if: 1. You are completely new to programming. This is not a 'learn to code' course. While you don’t need to be an expert developer, you should be comfortable with basic programming concepts and at least know how to install Python. Being completely new to programming also suggest that you job doesn't require automation, and it may not benefit much from AI. 2. You are looking for a passive, theoretical overview of AI. This is an intense, hands-on program that requires active building. Our methodology is centered on learning by doing. If your primary goal is to listen to lectures without writing code, you will not get the intended value. 3. You want to train a foundational model from scratch. This course teaches you how to build valuable applications with LLMs, not how to build the models themselves. When the web browser emerged, the great opportunity was to build websites, not competing browsers. We believe the same is true for AI today, and our focus is entirely on application. 4. You are looking for a list of "100 best prompts" or quick hacks. We focus on teaching the durable, first-principles understanding needed to build real applications. We do not teach temporary tricks even when they may be desired at times. 5. You cannot identify any problems you want to solve. The course teaches you how to build solutions. If you have no professional or personal context where you can apply these powerful new skills, the learning will remain abstract and you won't benefit from the core, practical value of the program.

The future is here, but unevenly distributed

Walkthrough building prototypes together. Learn their implications through LLM research and our technical insights.

Live Sessions

Content similar to the live sessions without the need for interactions. Fit your busy schedule and learn on your own pace.

Offline/Async Courses


Build your own GenAI solution for your particular use case. Apply the tools and mindsets learned in class

Weekly projects

Get feedback and coaching on your class project. Learn what other students have built.

Office hours

You are using AI, but feel like you can be much better at it. You want to apply AI to your daily work and actually boost productivity.

You want to understand what AI is, how to learn it well, and where it falls short—so you don’t waste time on things that won’t matter.

You want to become the go-to-expert in AI and capture this opportunity of a lifetime.

Go beyond basic tools. You'll learn to code and deploy functional prototypes land automated workflows using APIs, latest tools, and advanced frameworks.

Build Real-World AI Solutions, Not Just Prompts

Stop chasing fleeting trends. We teach you the core principles of LLMs so you can confidently evaluate new models and future-proof your skills.

A Lasting Framework to Navigate AI's Future

Learn to identify high-value opportunities, lead AI projects from idea to prototype, and clearly articulate strategy to your stakeholders.

Become the Go-To AI Expert on Your Team

The AI tool landscape is noisy. We save you hundreds of hours by rigorously testing the latest tools, showing you which ones work best for specific tasks in our live office hours and community Q&amp;A during and after the class.

Leverage the Best AI Tools, Vetted for You

Receive our 200+ page, continuously updated knowledge base. This is your go-to reference for solving building challenges long after the course ends. Join a community of 5,000+ like minded AI trailblazers.

A Lifetime Library and Community of Builder Knowledge

Stop chasing tricks. Master the durable skills and vetted tools to build real-world AI solutions.

Yuzheng Sun, PhD

Statsig.com Data Scientist | Ex Tencent Director | Ex Meta/Amazon/BCG | Tech channel with 200k+ subscribers and 5k+ paid members

Yan Wang, PhD

Applied Scientist @ Samsara | Olympic Torchbearer | Ex Pinterest/Microsoft | Ex Tech blogger with 100k+ subscribers

Cohort 9

Cohort 10

In a focused 3 week span, engineers in this course will learn to create and deploy AI-powered applications from scratch. It's a hands-on journey that will take you from mastering OpenAI API basics to creating intricate Prompt Tooling systems. Week by week, you'll enhance your skills, starting with learning to effectively use Retrieval Augmented Generation for dynamic AI interactions. With each module, you'll tackle Code Generation with GPT-4, delve into Image Generation with tools like Dall-E, and implement Speech-to-Text functionalities with Whisper. But we don't stop at creation; you'll also gain expertise in running open source models, ensuring your applications are fine-tuned to your needs. The culmination of your learning will be the construction of your own AI Agent, encapsulating all the technologies and skills you've absorbed. These are all of the technologies we are seeing as requirements in the marketplace to land a job as an AI engineer — so If you're a software engineer looking to pivot into AI — this is for you.

Get competent and conversant in all major modalities and become an AI Engineer

We'll go over the projects for each topic in our live sessions so you can see how it's done, and get any outstanding questions answered.

We have lots of reading and homework you can go through to fully immerse yourself in the material.

Software Engineers looking to get a job in AI.

Indie-Hackers interested in building AI-powered applications

Develoeprs eager to learn how to get more productive through cutting-edge AI tools.

Gain a solid foundation in using OpenAI APIs for natural language processing tasks to enhance your applications.

OpenAI API Fundamentals

Master AI Memory/Context and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to ground responses in fact and improve user interaction with your AI.

Retrieval Augmented Generation

Learn how to generate code with GPT-4 to augment programming tasks and add new capabilities to your application through function calling/tool-use.

Code Generation

Explore image generation with tools like Dall-E, Stability AI, and Lexica to add visual AI capabilities to your projects.

Image Generation

Implement Speech-to-Text features in your applications using Whisper for more accessible and dynamic user interfaces.

Speech-To-Text

Understand the process of finetuning and running open source models to tailor AI behavior to your specific needs.

Open Source Models and Fine Tuning

Complete the journey by building your first AI agent, integrating the various tools and techniques learned into a cohesive project.

AI Agents

From Dabbling To Complete Competency: Learn how to build real-world working AI products

Shawn "Swyx" Wang

Founder at Smol.ai

Noah Hein

AI Consultant

Cohort 5

Cohort 6

AI has the potential to transform every product, service, and experience we build — but only if we choose the right things to build in the first place. And by "right," we mean AI that's:- Good for business- Good for users- Good for the world How To Select AI Projects That Are Actually Worth Doing is for business leaders, designers, and innovators who want to move beyond the hype and harness AI in ways that are truly meaningful. Whether you’re shaping a new product, improving a service, or evolving your customer experience, this course will help you identify AI opportunities that are:1) high-impact for your users and your business2) feasible for your organization to deliver3) low-risk for everyone (in other words, your AI decision-making will keep you out of the AI Incident Database and your CFO's office). We’ll pull back the curtain on all the AI hype, ground you in a business-level understanding of AI models and data requirements, and then demonstrate a powerful combination of research-backed methodologies for ideating and evaluating potential AI projects. You might be thinking: I can just use my existing processes and methodologies, right? The short answer is: No. The medium-length answer is: Research shows that without a shared AI design framework, project teams tend to come up with high-risk, low-value AI solutions. (We'll share more details about why this happens in our course.) And the long answer is: In the digital era, we’ve embraced waves of new design “materials” — like pixels, code, and data — and learned to shape them into interfaces, interactions, and experiences.&nbsp;Like every new design material, AI challenges us to rethink not just how we build, but what we build — and why.&nbsp;Yet AI stands apart: It’s not static or predictable. It’s probabilistic, adaptive, and deeply entwined with human behavior, judgment, and ethics — making it one of the most powerful and complex materials designers have ever worked with. If you want to wield AI for both profits and good, you'll benefit from learning to:- Articulate what AI can and cannot do- Apply AI to the design problem at hand- Mitigate AI’s unpredictability &amp; inaccuracy- Foresee potential consequences of AI- Identify the data requirements for AI applications And this is exactly what you'll get from your investment in How To Select AI Projects That Are Actually Worth Doing. Just a heads-up: This is more than a course. It’s a mindset shift. You’ll leave with a practical, repeatable process that brings clarity to one of the most pressing questions of our time: How can we use AI to boost performance, unlock innovation, AND make life better for the people it touches? Customer experience pioneer&nbsp;Kerry Bodine&nbsp;and Carnegie Mellon University professor&nbsp;Dan Saffer&nbsp;will pull back the curtain on all the AI hype and share a powerful combination of research-driven methodologies. Join a cohort of thoughtful professionals who care about doing AI right. And let’s reimagine what’s possible — and start building what matters most. We offer multiple course formats: 1️⃣ Our deep dive cohort (the one on this page) takes you on a 6-week journey into strategic AI design. You’ll complete videos and readings at your own pace, then join Kerry and Dan each week for 90-minute live sessions filled with Q&amp;A, hands-on exercises, and personalized guidance. Weekly homework assignments will focus on a real-world challenge for your organization — culminating in a capstone project that brings together everything you’ve learned into a clear, actionable AI initiative that drives your business forward. Deep Dive cohorts are intentionally small to create a highly interactive and engaging learning environment.They’re ideal for professionals who want to apply course concepts directly to the specific needs, goals, and constraints of their organization — and who recognize the value of learning alongside a diverse group of peers. This experience is designed for those seeking deeper collaboration, personalized guidance, and expert support every step of the way. 2️⃣ Prefer a faster path? Our Jumpstart cohorts include all the core content from our deep dive course —&nbsp;tailored for those looking to build their strategic AI toolbox in less time or on a smaller budget.👉 Explore the Jumpstart course → https://maven.com/bodine/ai-project-selection-jumpstart 3️⃣ Interested in private training or executive support?We also offer keynotes, custom workshops and 1:1 coaching for teams and leaders so that you can establish a shared practice for selecting successful AI-driven projects.📩 Drop us a line to start the conversation: https://kerrybodine.com/contact/ So tell us:Do you want to reimagine what AI can do?Join us. And get ready to build AI that's worth building.

Get ready to build AI that's actually worth building.
 

What you need

A technical background. Our first set of video models, which we call AI Models & Data for Non-Technical Folks, will get you up to speed.

What you don't need

We know you're busy! We assume that you'll have watched all of the videos (20-ish minutes) before each live session. You may also wish to spend more time on the additional reading.

Videos & readings

Bring your reflections to share with the group —&nbsp;and your questions for Dan and Kerry.

Thursdays: 90-minute live discussion & exercises

Your homework will be tailored to a real-world challenge for your organization. Assignments will build on each other, culminating in a business proposal for one or more low-risk AI initiatives. Your homework time commitment will increase each week as you dive deeper.

Weekly homework assignments

Business leaders &amp; strategists&nbsp;who need clear, practical AI guidance — and are ready to meet their org's accelerating business objectives.

Product managers building AI-driven roadmaps who want to make smarter decisions and avoid costly missteps that lead to AI project failures.

UX, CX, &amp; service designers who are leading/collaborating with business/ technical teams to envision and shape AI products and experiences.

Tech leads &amp; data scientists looking to align more effectively with product and design teams on buildable and valuable AI solutions.

Anyone seeking a better way to design for AI — beyond the hype.

We’re at a pivotal moment in the evolution of AI. This course gives you the clarity to move past the noise and take a grounded, strategic approach to creating AI initiatives that actually deliver value to your business, your users, and the world.

See beyond the AI hype — and step into what’s truly possible.

There's so much more to the AI universe than gen AI and AI agents. Discover eight powerful AI capabilities — and learn how to unlock their potential in ways that elevate your products, services, and experiences.

Think bigger than GenAI and agents.

You’ll walk away with a practical, human-centered framework for identifying the right AI opportunities. From assessing feasibility and value to anticipating risks and aligning stakeholders, you’ll gain tools that support better decisions — every step of the way.

Learn a process you’ll return to again and again.

Too many AI projects fail because they chase flashy ideas instead of solving real problems. This course helps you sidestep those traps, focusing instead on what’s achievable, impactful, and right for your team and organization.

Design for AI with intention — and avoid common pitfalls.

You’ll learn how to spot unintended consequences early and shape your solutions for fairness, accountability, and trust. Because designing with care is good ethics and good business.

Proactively shape positive outcomes.

AI design is a team sport. You’ll gain insight into the roles, relationships, and conversations that bring successful AI projects to life — and practice building alignment across disciplines.

Build the team it takes to make it real.

Our research-proven methodology will lead you to AI that your users, your business, and the world actually need.

Lightning Lessons

OSS in AI-Assisted Software Development