Class 4 Handout

Class 4 Key Lessons

Everything you build with AI is software, and two ideas keep it working: keep the truth in one place, and make breaking things cheap.
Every project has one place where the real data lives, called the System of Record. Every screen should read and change it through that one place.
The most common mistake is a screen that keeps its own copy of the data. Copies drift apart, and then nobody knows which one is right.
Screens are cheap to change. The System of Record is not, so change it carefully.
Your app is a folder of text files. Save a version (commit) whenever it works, so every break is easy to undo.
When the AI breaks something, roll back to the last version that worked. Don’t argue with it.
Make one small change at a time, then test it yourself before moving on.
You don’t need to know the technical cause to fix something. Say what feels wrong in plain words, and the agent can usually fix it.

What students remember most isn’t a trick or a fact. It’s building something they never thought they could.
Pick something you really want to keep improving. You’ll put more hours into it, and that practice is what makes you better.
Getting through your first 100 hours of creative work with AI is the hump. After that, it gets much easier.
If you’re stuck on what to make, pick a theme: something that delights someone, something that brings people together, or something you’ve always wanted to learn.

By the end of class four, you should have:

Something you built today that you wouldn’t have believed you could make before this class
A project you want to keep improving, iterating on and maintaining