Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) usher in a new era of peace and prosperity? Or will it send everyone from writers to trained engineers to soup lines?  In this class we will take a common-sense look at today’s large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and others.  We will explore, at a conceptual level, how these models work and demonstrate what they do well and where they struggle.  We will use an LLM in real time to demonstrate real-world uses and capabilities.  In the second session we will look at more specific LLM applications, many of which are in use today, as well as what we can expect in the near future.  We will also explore the dark side of AI and attempt to arm ourselves against its misuse.