Overview

Why did we make this workshop?

AI tools are here and people are using them.

When first learning how to code, there is a lot of new vocabulary to learn (what people call parts of code and data types) along with actually generating code that will get you the desired end result. This is difficult to do for everyone, but AI tools can help with some of this.

In this workshop series, we aim to 1) help people who are uncomfortable using AI tools feel equipped to try them out and 2) to help experienced AI users examine how they could use AI tools for more efficient code based projects.

Everyone is welcome, prior experience with coding is not required.

About the series

The AI for Coding series consists of three 30-minute sessions designed to help you use Large Language Models (LLMs) to support coding and exploratory data analysis. We will introduce fundamental concepts, practice breaking down problems into actionable components, and use GitHub Copilot to assist with coding tasks.

Each workshop will begin with 30 minutes of teaching, followed by an optional 15 minutes for questions, discussion, and practice. The first workshop introduces concepts; in the second and third we invite you to practice with hands-on activities. See the workshops page for more information about each session.

Our demonstration of AI coding will use GitHub Copilot to code in R, but the concepts and approaches apply to other tools and coding languages. We chose no-cost platforms that are already familiar to many users to make the workshops more accessible. To participate fully, please follow the instructions on the setup page before the second workshop.

Only use freely available AI tools with files that can be made public. Never use GitHub Copilot with personal or confidential data. See UBC AI guidance for more about responsible AI use.