Tier 0 · The Path
AI Basics
You’ve heard the noise. AI will change everything, AI is overhyped, AI will take your job, AI is a toy. This tier cuts through all of it — and gets you to your first useful result in days, not months.
Who this tier is for
You’ve never used AI, or you’ve only poked at it once or twice. No technical background needed. If you can write a text message, you have every skill required to start.
You’ve never used AI, or you’ve only poked at it once or twice. No technical background needed. If you can write a text message, you have every skill required to start.
By the end of this tier
You’ll know what AI actually is (and isn’t), have an account on the tool that fits you, and — this is the part people remember — you’ll have used AI to solve one real problem in your own life. That solved problem is your first artifact. Every legend in our archive has one.
The lessons
What AI Actually Is (No Jargon, Promise)
An assistant that has read most of the internet — brilliant, fast, and occasionally confidently wrong. Two experiments you run yourself.
Read lesson 0.0 →
An assistant that has read most of the internet — brilliant, fast, and occasionally confidently wrong. Two experiments you run yourself.
Read lesson 0.0 →
The Grand Tour: ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini
One honest decision rule, a two-minute signup, and the one-week rule that separates users from tourists.
Read lesson 0.1 →
One honest decision rule, a two-minute signup, and the one-week rule that separates users from tourists.
Read lesson 0.1 →
Your First 10 Useful Conversations
Ten copy-paste prompts that pay for themselves the first time: the dreaded email, the endless document, the postponed decision.
Read lesson 0.2 →
Ten copy-paste prompts that pay for themselves the first time: the dreaded email, the endless document, the postponed decision.
Read lesson 0.2 →
Myths vs. Reality: How to Never Get Fooled
Four myths — two from believers, two from skeptics — and the closing move that makes the machine audit itself.
Read lesson 0.3 →
Four myths — two from believers, two from skeptics — and the closing move that makes the machine audit itself.
Read lesson 0.3 →
What Never to Paste Into AI
Five categories, one café analogy, and the redaction habit that keeps you safe without slowing you down.
Read lesson 0.4 →
Five categories, one café analogy, and the redaction habit that keeps you safe without slowing you down.
Read lesson 0.4 →
✶ Your Tier 0 Quest
Pick one real problem from your week — a difficult email, a trip to plan, a document too long to read, a decision you keep postponing. Solve it with AI, start to finish.
When it’s done, you’ve graduated. Most people finish this tier in 1–3 days.
Pick one real problem from your week — a difficult email, a trip to plan, a document too long to read, a decision you keep postponing. Solve it with AI, start to finish.
When it’s done, you’ve graduated. Most people finish this tier in 1–3 days.