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AI systemsPro

Build the machinery around an agent loop.

Building AI Agents

Implement tool use, planning, reflection, memory, multi-agent coordination, evaluation, and guardrails around a deterministic model stand-in.

What you will be able to do

Leave with capability, not just vocabulary.

Implement and trace an agent loop

Design typed tools and validate calls

Add planning, reflection, and memory deliberately

Evaluate multi-step behavior and enforce guardrails

Running example

The Helpwell support agent, improved one capability at a time while its control flow remains inspectable.

Prerequisites

Basic Python and familiarity with LLM prompts or APIs.

Curriculum

Every module earns the next one.

Open any module to review its exact sections. Progress and completion follow you through the course.

8 modules · ~9 hours
01
Module 1

From Chatbot to Agent: The Loop

BeginnerFree preview

Topics include Chatbot vs agent, The agent loop, Model + Tools + Instructions, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1Chatbot vs Agent: Who Owns the Plumbing
  2. 2The Agent Loop: Perceive, Reason, Act, Observe, Stop
  3. 3The Three Parts: Model, Tools, Instructions
  4. 4The Model Decides, Your Code Acts
  5. 5Why a Stop Rule Is Non-Negotiable
65 min5 sections
Open module
02
Module 2

Hands: Tool Use & Structured Outputs

BeginnerPro

Topics include Function calling, Structured outputs, ReAct, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1The Tool-Use Contract: Name, Args, Id
  2. 2The Model Picks; Your Code Presses the Button
  3. 3Structured Outputs: Schema-Valid Arguments
  4. 4ReAct: Thought, Action, Observation
  5. 5The Tool Description Is the Biggest Lever
70 min5 sections
Open module
03
Module 3

Thinking Ahead: Planning & Decomposition

IntermediatePro

Topics include Decomposition, Plan-and-Solve, Step dependencies, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1What a Plan Is: One Goal, Ordered Steps
  2. 2Plan-and-Solve: Think First, Then Do
  3. 3Dependencies: Refund the Id You Just Found
  4. 4Plan, Observe, Re-Plan
  5. 5Decompose-First vs Decide-as-You-Go
70 min5 sections
Open module
04
Module 4

Second Drafts: Reflection & Self-Correction

IntermediatePro

Topics include Self-Refine, Reflexion, CRITIC, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1The First Answer Is a Draft
  2. 2Self-Refine: Localized, Actionable Feedback
  3. 3Reflexion: Turn Failure Into a Written Lesson
  4. 4CRITIC: Check Against an External Rule
  5. 5The Evaluator–Optimizer Loop, and When to Stop
70 min5 sections
Open module
05
Module 5

Memory: Giving the Agent a Past

IntermediatePro

Topics include Statelessness, Context window, Virtual memory (MemGPT), and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1Statelessness: A Consultant With Amnesia
  2. 2The Finite Window and Context Rot
  3. 3Virtual Memory: RAM vs Disk
  4. 4Self-Editing Memory Blocks
  5. 5Scored Recall: Recency, Importance, Relevance
70 min5 sections
Open module
06
Module 6

A Team of Agents: Multi-Agent Systems

AdvancedPro

Topics include Handoffs, Supervisor / orchestrator-workers, Shared state, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1Handoffs: Transfer Control to a Specialist
  2. 2The Supervisor: Orchestrator and Workers
  3. 3Shared State: The Message Bus
  4. 4Roles, SOPs, and Debate
  5. 5The Honest Tradeoff: Cost and the Single-Writer Rule
70 min5 sections
Open module
07
Module 7

Does It Actually Work? Evaluation

AdvancedPro

Topics include Outcome vs trajectory eval, Task success rate, pass^k reliability, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1Measure, Don't Eyeball
  2. 2Outcome Eval: Grade the Final State
  3. 3Trajectory Eval: Grade the Path
  4. 4Task Success and pass^k Reliability
  5. 5LLM-as-Judge and Its Biases
70 min5 sections
Open module
08
Module 8

Trust & Ship: Guardrails, Safety & the 2026 Frontier

AdvancedPro

Topics include Caps & sandboxing, Human-in-the-loop, Prompt injection, and more.

View 5 sections
  1. 1Caps and Sandboxes: The Circuit Breaker
  2. 2Human-in-the-Loop for High-Impact Actions
  3. 3Prompt Injection and the Lethal Trifecta
  4. 4The Rule of Two
  5. 5The 2026 Frontier: MCP, Computer Use, Agentic RAG
70 min5 sections
Open module
Who this course is for

Built for people who need to use the skill.

01

Engineers building tool-using AI systems

02

AI product teams reviewing agent architecture

03

Developers moving beyond chat interfaces

Start the course

Begin with From Chatbot to Agent: The Loop.

The first module establishes the language and example used throughout the rest of the course.

Open Module 1
Building AI Agents | Let's Data Science | Let's Data Science