Module 04 — AI Literacy & Tools¶
Duration: 2–3 sessions · Audience: Adults and older teens · Prerequisite: Module 01, Module 02
The most-requested module across audiences. AI is changing job applications, customer service, education, and information ecosystems — Boot Up participants need to be on the using side, not just the receiving side.
Learning objectives¶
By the end of Module 04, a participant can:
- Describe in plain language what a large language model does (and doesn't do)
- Use a cloud AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude) productively and safely
- Run a local AI model offline on their Boot Up device (if it has enough RAM)
- Spot likely AI-generated text, images, or audio
- Use AI for job search: cover letters, resume tightening, interview prep
- Understand bias, hallucination, and what AI shouldn't be trusted with
Session breakdown¶
Session 1 — What AI actually is. "AI" vs. "machine learning" vs. "LLM." How an LLM works at a kitchen-table level (predicts next words from patterns). What makes a model "good" — and what it gets wrong. Hallucination: why and how to catch it. Bias: where it comes from. Demo with ChatGPT or Claude, including a deliberate hallucination caught in real time.
Session 2 — Using AI productively. Prompting basics: be specific, give context, ask for format. AI for job search — tightening a resume, drafting a cover letter from a job description, practicing interview answers, translating military / recovery / unconventional experience into civilian-employer language. AI for writing and learning. What AI shouldn't be trusted with: medical diagnosis, legal decisions, current events, math without verification.
Session 3 — Local AI offline (devices with 8GB+ RAM only). Why local AI matters: privacy, no account, no internet. Install Ollama and pull a small model (Phi-3 Mini or Llama 3.2 3B). Chat via Open WebUI. Compare to ChatGPT. When local is the right choice — and when it isn't.
Hands-on assignment¶
By the end of the module the participant has had a substantive cloud-AI chat, drafted or improved one real thing they care about (resume, cover letter, tough message, study guide), installed Ollama and chatted offline if their device has the RAM, and can name one thing AI got wrong during the module.
Audience adaptations¶
| Audience | Emphasis |
|---|---|
| Recovery / reentry | Job applications, recovery-friendly employer search, translating "gap years" |
| Incarcerated populations | Heavy emphasis on local Ollama (no internet), educational use, supervised |
| Seniors | Lighter touch — AI as a research assistant, not a daily tool; scam-detection use |
| Veterans | Translating MOS / military experience into civilian roles |
| Adults | Practical productivity; awareness of AI in the workplace they're entering |
Ethics and limits¶
The module explicitly covers what AI is not good for: medical or mental-health decisions (refer to real clinicians); legal advice that matters (refer to attorneys; for reentry participants, fair-chance legal aid); current events without verification; decisions about other people's lives; anything where being wrong has real consequences and the answer isn't checkable.
Assessment for award eligibility¶
A facilitator confirms (no written test): Did the participant use AI to do one real thing they care about? Can they describe one thing AI got wrong? (Optional, RAM-dependent) Did they get a local model running? If the first two are yes, Module 04 is complete.