AI
- AI use isn't permitted in this course. It's required. The course can't proceed without it.
- You may not have AI write your Venture Logs, Book Memos, or Final Reflection. Those are the record of your thinking. I read them for specificity, and an agent's specificity is not yours.
- Treat every output as untrusted. Verify anything you cite, invoice, send, or promise. Keep the audit trail in your log.
- Never fabricate interview data or present AI output as a participant's words. That's an integrity violation, not a shortcut.
- You own the output. "The agent did it" is not a defense for a broken automation, a made-up statistic, or an email your harness sent that it shouldn't have.
- Reading, forking, and improving each other's harnesses is encouraged. Attribute it.
- Your harness will touch real people's data at a real organization. Before it does, your team and the process owner agree in writing on what it may read, what it may send, and who checks. That agreement is part of the Inefficiency Brief. Until deploy week, nothing leaves the building without a hand on it.
Attendance and lateness
Being in the room matters; most of the course happens there. Unexcused absences are capped by bundle: three for a C, two for a B, one for an A. A documented illness or a confirmed varsity obligation is excused. A token forgives one other absence. The Nov 19 Video Pitch Competition is a required event and counts as a class day; a token doesn't cover it.
Late work needs a token, which buys up to 72 hours. Without one it isn't accepted. A late Monday demo costs a token too. Tokens are explained on the grading page.
Studio culture
Mantras, to be finished with you in Week 1:
- "Listen to understand, not to respond."
- "Feedback: be kind, not nice."
- "Test, don't debate."
- "Show the agent doing the work. The work argues for itself."
Things will break in front of the class. That's the curriculum. A broken, honest demo beats a polished demo that only works on the easy case. Phones down and off during class. Laptops open during demos.
Readings and memos
Two books, both short. Have both by Week 1. Read each week's assignment before that Wednesday's class; it's also on the schedule.
- Ethan Mollick, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. What to delegate, what to keep, and how to tell.
- Sahil Lavingia, The Minimalist Entrepreneur. Start from a community you're in, charge from day one, build great not big.
| Wk | By Wednesday | Read | Why then |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sep 16 | Co-Intelligence, intro and ch. 1–3 | What the thing is, and the four rules, before you build a skill |
| 3 | Sep 23 | Minimalist Entrepreneur, ch. 1–2 | Start with a community: the hunt for a design partner |
| 4 | Sep 30 | Co-Intelligence, ch. 4–6 | AI as person, creative, coworker: what to delegate, before rules |
| 5 | Oct 7 | Minimalist Entrepreneur, ch. 3 | Build as little as possible: prototype 1 |
| 6 | Oct 14 | Minimalist Entrepreneur, ch. 4 | Sell to your first hundred customers: validation |
| 8 | Oct 28 | Co-Intelligence, ch. 7–9 and epilogue | Tutor, coach, future: agent org and evaluators. Memo 1 due Fri Oct 30. |
| 9 | Nov 4 | Minimalist Entrepreneur, ch. 5 | Market by being you: the pitch |
| 10 | Nov 11 | Minimalist Entrepreneur, ch. 6–7 | Grow mindfully, build the house you want to live in. Memo 2 due Fri Nov 13. |
Book-to-Venture Memos: one per book, 500 to 1,000 words. One for a B, both for an A. The checklist is on the deliverables page. Short pieces get linked from the home page week by week.
Academic integrity
Academic integrity is a fundamental aspect of our learning community. In this course that means proper citation, honest reporting of what your automation actually did, and never fabricating an interview, a test result, or a transaction. Honesty in evidence and attribution is non-negotiable. Any instance of academic dishonesty may result in course failure.
Students with disabilities
I am committed to ensuring access to course content for all students. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with disabilities. Contact Lauren Kozak, Title IX Coordinator and Director of Disability Resources, to confidentially discuss your needs and the accommodation process: wlu.edu/disability-accommodations. If you have already been approved for accommodations, meet with me within the first two weeks of the term so we can build an implementation plan together.
Getting help
Office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 1:45–2:30pm in Holekamp 109, and by appointment. Email jmargalus@wlu.edu gets a reply within one working day. If your process owner backs out, your team falls apart, or your harness eats a week, tell me the day it happens, not the Friday the log is due.