Learn how to build and use personal AI agents that automate tasks, integrate with your existing tools, and boost productivity without requiring programming skills. The session also explores how personal AI can provide greater privacy, customization, control, and offline access compared to commercial AI platforms.

This session will be presented by Dr. Blaine Fisher of Tulane University and will be held via Zoom. The event is open to all Tulane students and faculty at no cost. Participants are asked to keep their microphones muted and remain stationary throughout the session. Registration is required.

Why join this session?

• Learn to Build an AI that can actually do things for you and move beyond asking questions in a chatbot.
• Learn to create your first personal AI agent.
• Learn to automate repetitive work.
• Learn the difference between AI chat, automation, and AI agents.
• See how AI can become personalized to the way you work.
• Learn how agents connect to the tools you already use. See examples!
• Understand the current AI agent landscape.
• Try agentic AI without being a programmer.
• Learn what agents can and cannot safely do.
• Prepare for where AI is heading next.

Why would folks benefit from having a personal AI:

While commercial AI platforms offer broad utility, the shift toward creating and running a personal AI—a model or agentic system tailored directly to an individual's private data, preferences, and local environment—presents fundamental advantages for everyday users.

• Complete Data Privacy & Security: Keep your personal data with you – not on a corporate server
• Hyper-Personalized Memory & Context: Personal AI stays with you and is unaffected by corporate updates/mergers over time
• Uncensored, Unfiltered Exploration: Set your own AI boundaries, not the ones assigned by corporations
• Immunity to Corporate Steering & Deprecation: Stay unaffected by corporate changes, guiding, politics, paywalls.
• Unrestricted System & Hardware Control: You decide what personal files/drives you Personal AI can access, you’re not sandboxed.
• Offline Access & Cost Control: Locally hosted models run without an internet connection, making them reliable during network outages or travel. Additionally, after the initial setup or hardware investment, power users avoid escalating monthly API fees and multi-tiered subscription costs.