Day 0: Welcome to Exploring GenAI with VAILL! 🚀

🚨 READ THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY 🚨

We're thrilled you've chosen to explore the world of generative AI (GenAI) with VAILL. For 10 weekdays starting on December 2, you'll discover how AI can augment your legal workflow in ethical and accessible ways. But before we begin, let's set you up for success!

🚨 See the end of this post for links to Days 1 - 10 of Exploring GenAI with VAILL. 👇

🚀 Your Learning Journey

This introductory-level course¹ is designed to be both practical and transformative if you put in the time to practice and play with GenAI. We’ve structured the course based on what we know today about how to become confident and proficient in using a conversational GenAI tool.

A prolific user, teacher, and writer about GenAI, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick says this:

“You just need to use AI enough to get a feel for what you can use it for in your area of expertise. The most important thing to do is to get 10 or so hours of use with an advanced AI system. And to do that you just need to be a good-enough prompter to overcome the barriers that hold many AI users back. There are really two pathways to get started: good-enough prompting for tasks and good-enough prompting for thought.”

-Ethan Mollick, One Useful Thing (23 November 2024)

So, we’ve created a sequence that does just this, giving you about 10 hours or so of practice with an advanced AI system. Each day, you will:

• Learn essential concepts about AI to do work in a legal (knowledge work) setting

• Complete hands-on exercises with AI tools

• Reflect on your experiences and insights

• Build confidence in using AI professionally

⏰ Time Commitment & Flexibility

We know that legal professionals have demanding schedules, so we ask you to plan accordingly. This course requires:

• a suggested 30-60 minutes per day for exercises and reflection

• Consistent engagement for optimal learning

• Brief reflection notes after each session

Important: If you can't commit this time right now, that's okay! You can pause and return to the course when you're ready. The materials will be waiting for you here on the AIOL Substack, and it's better to engage fully rather than rush through the content.

🤔 Why Reflection Matters

Throughout this course, we'll ask you to maintain brief notes about your experiences. This isn't busy work – it's a crucial part of your learning journey! Your reflections will:

• Deepen your understanding of AI capabilities

• Help you identify the most valuable applications for your practice

• Build toward your personal AI roadmap on Day 10

• Create a valuable reference for your future AI work

💻 What You'll Need

To get the most from this course, please prepare:

1. A notebook or digital document for your reflections

2. A free or paid account with ChatGPT (you can set this up on Day 1)

3. Curiosity: an open mind and willingness to experiment

📧 Course Structure

Each day you’ll receive an email focusing on a specific aspect of GenAI relevant to legal professionals (and most any knowledge worker):

• Days 1-2: Foundations and basic interactions

• Days 3-4: Content creation and analysis

• Days 5-6: Productivity and learning enhancement

• Days 7-8: Ethics and advanced techniques

• Days 9-10: Tool selection and future planning

❓ Setting Expectations

This course is about:

✅ Practical experimentation with AI tools

✅ Building confidence through hands-on experience

✅ Developing professional judgment about AI use

✅ Creating useful AI workflows

This course is not:

❌ A technical deep-dive into GenAI

❌ A comprehensive guide to all AI tools

❌ A replacement for exercising your independent professional judgment

🧰 Your Success Toolkit

To make the most of this course:

1. Schedule your daily learning time in advance

2. Find a quiet space for focused experimentation

3. Take brief notes after each session

4. Connect with fellow participants when possible

5. Be curious – there are no wrong ways to do this work!

🧭 Ready to explore?

Your Day 1 email will arrive on December 2. In the meantime:

• Set up your reflection document

• Block out your learning time for the 10 days of the course (weekdays from December 2 - December 13)

• Share this learning opportunity with friends and colleagues, and consider doing it with others (more on why to do this in tomorrow’s post)

Remember, this is a journey of exploration and growth. This is about curiosity, not perfection—focus on progress and discovery.

Questions before we begin? Reach out to us at vaill@vanderbilt.edu.

Many thanks for joining us on this GenAI journey!

And, here are links to each day of Exploring GenAI with VAILL (added as they drop on Substack):
Building Your Learning Community 👥
Day 1: First Steps 👣
Day 2: The Art of Prompting 🎨
Day 3: GenAI for Content Creation 📑
Day 4: GenAI for Research and Analysis 📊
Day 5: GenAI for Productivity ☑️
Day 6: GenAI for Coaching and Professional Growth 🌱
Day 7: AI Safety & Ethics 🛟
Day 8: Advanced Prompting Techniques 💬
Day 9: AI Tools Comparison 🛠
Day 10: Creating Your AI Roadmap 🗺

Cheers,

The VAILL Team

1. We designed this email course for people with little to no experience with a GenAI tool (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot). And even if you have more than minimal experience, you may still be inspired by some of the exercises and resources we share.