Foundations of Generative AI Tools

This unit introduces learners to core concepts, capabilities, and practical uses of ChatGPT and related GPT models, including account choices, multimodal features, prompt engineering, and integration strategies. Students will gain foundational skills in prompting, model selection, ethical considerations, and simple model-chaining workflows that prepare them for advanced production and managerial tasks in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze and compare ChatGPT account tiers and GPT model variants to justify an appropriate model selection for a given digital content task, citing at least three technical or cost trade-offs.
• Demonstrate effective prompt-engineering techniques (including formatting, defining desired outputs, output stitching, and prompting for text vs. non-text) by producing three distinct outputs that meet provided quality and format criteria.
• Apply multimodal and integration strategies by configuring an individual ChatGPT account and building a basic pipeline that retrieves, refines, and composes content (model chaining) for a specified use case such as marketing, HR, or BI.
• Evaluate ethical, business, and human factors (responsible AI, copyright/market considerations, and the role of human talent) and produce a concise mitigation plan recommending practices for responsible deployment.