AI 101
A collection of free guides to understand artificial intelligence. Yes, it is free.
Level 1:
Foundational concepts
1.1 AI For Dummies
A practical Claude starter module for employees who are new to AI.
1.2 How Claude Actually Works
A working mental model of LLMs — tokens, training, and the context window, without the engineering lecture.
1.3 Why Generative AI Matters for Knowledge Work
The business case: where the leverage sits in a workday and how to find it in your own week.
1.4 Trust, Safety, and Your Data
What data is safe in Claude, what isn't, how to spot a hallucination, and when to stop and escalate.
Level 2:
Effective use
2.1 Prompting Fundamentals
Move from asking Claude things to writing prompts that consistently produce work-ready output.
2.2 Working with Context
Feed Claude the material it needs — attachments, long documents, projects — without overwhelming it.
2.3 Getting Reliable Outputs
Verification, iteration loops, and self-critique. Stop shipping the first answer Claude gives you.
2.4 Choosing AI: When Claude Is and Isn't the Right Tool
The judgment call: which tasks belong in Claude and which belong in a spreadsheet, a database, or a colleague.
Level 3:
Claude in the daily workflow
3.1 Choosing Your Claude Surface
Chat, Cowork, or Code: pick the right Claude surface in under thirty seconds and move work between them without losing context.
3.2 Claude with PowerPoint
Build, edit, and review decks: outline-first generation, slide-by-slide edits, narrative critique.
3.3 Claude with Word
Draft, revise, and preserve voice. Real .docx output that opens cleanly and prints right.
3.4 Claude with Excel
Excel computes, Claude communicates. Clean data, write and explain formulas, turn numbers into meaning.
3.5 Claude with Outlook and Teams
Inbox triage, replies in your voice, long-thread summaries, and meeting-ready notes pulled from email history.
Level 4:
Mortgage industry applications
4.1 AI-Powered Sales Communications
Personalized, in-your-voice outreach at scale to originators, realtors, and borrowers.
4.2 Guidelines and Overlays Automation
Ingest agency guidelines and GMFS overlays, keep them current, make them queryable with citation.
4.3 Committee Decision Flow and Overlay Propagation
Move a committee decision from "we voted" to "every downstream surface is updated" with a clean audit trail.
4.4 Loan Manufacturing Pipeline Acceleration
Compress underwriting, processing, and condition clearing without compromising credit quality.
4.5 Compliance, Fair Lending, and Audit Trails
Treat compliance as a first-class AI use case. Design audit trails that survive a CFPB or state exam.
4.6 Borrower Experience and Retention
Improve the borrower experience from application through post-close. The leverage point for retention, repeat, and referral.