| 1 | Course introduction, What is an agent?, Agent use cases, Agent architecture, AI ethics |
| Set up course environment |
| 2 | Prompt engineering, Streaming and batching, Prompt templates |
| Prompt engineering, Prompting with messages, Chatbot conversation state |
| 3 | Labor Day - No class |
| Go over Project 1, Project 1 assigned |
| 4 | Review linear and logistic regression, Linear regression, Multivariable regression, Logistic regression |
| Neural networks, Feedforward networks, Backpropagation, Activation functions (sigmoid and softmax) |
| 5 | Tokenization and embeddings, Transformers and self-attention, Encoders and decoders |
| Experimenting with multimodal models, Project 1 due |
| 6 | Review for exam |
| Exam |
| 7 | AI ethics, Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching, See, Judge, Act |
| AI ethics, Pros and cons of AI in terms of human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity, Homework: Write-up on tensions with AI |
| FALL BREAK |
| 8 | Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) |
| RAG, Homework on AI tensions due, Project 2 assigned (add RAG to project) |
| 9 | Introduction to full agents, Reflection design pattern |
| Tools, Adding tools to an agent, Project 3 assigned (add a simple tool to project) |
| 10 | Design patterns for highly autonomous agents |
| Multi-agent workflow |
| 11 | Review, Project 2 (add RAG) and Project 3 (add a tool) due |
| Exam 2 |
| 12 | Vibe coding and assisted software development, Final project assigned |
| Vibe coding and assisted software development |
| 13 | Catch-up day, Meet with groups for final project |
| Thanksgiving break - No class |
| 14 | AI ethics, Developers' responsibility to ensure AI promotes human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity |
| Work on projects |
| 15 | Work on projects |
| Final project presentations |