AI Research Foundations

This course introduces AI as a practical partner in research and development. Instead of repetitive tasks consuming valuable hours, AI tools can handle literature reviews, data exploration, and code troubleshooting with speed and precision. Participants explore ways to use AI as both a collaborator and a critical voice in brainstorming, uncovering insights, and challenging assumptions. Prompt strategies are emphasized to ensure interactions produce reliable and useful outcomes. By the end of the course, AI functions as a dependable research intern, enabling greater focus on discovery and interpretation.

Learning Objectives:

- Explore how to use AI as a 'thought partner' and 'devil's advocate' for brainstorming.
- Master prompt engineering to get the most effective results from AI tools.
- Utilize AI to process and interpret large quantities of data and spot trends readily.
- Automate labor-intensive data analysis by having AI extract quality metrics from data files.
- Employ AI for quick and efficient code troubleshooting.
 

Topics Covered:

- AI for Collaboration and Brainstorming
- Prompt Engineering for Research
- Data Analysis with AI (e.g., AlphaFold JSON files)
- Literature Synthesis and Translation
- Code Troubleshooting and Cautions ('The Productivity Paradox')

Key Takeaways:

- AI is positioned as a partner for brainstorming and idea refinement.
- Effective prompt strategies that are embedded in real-life lab examples to produce accurate and actionable results.
- Workflows where AI handles literature review, data analysis, and troubleshooting.

Prerequisites: None