Workshop blurbs#

Standard descriptions of the LLMs Unplugged workshop at different lengths, for hosts, event organisers, and conference programs. Pick whichever fits the space—and if you need something different, or a venue-specific variation, get in touch.

Title#

LLMs Unplugged: A tech-free guide to understanding (and teaching) AI

One-liner (≈15 words)#

Hands-on workshop that demonstrates how large language models work—no computers or coding required.

One paragraph (≈80 words)#

Build your own language model with pen, paper and dice. In two hours you’ll go from counting word patterns in a short text to generating new sentences with a few rolls of a dice—no screens, no coding, no maths beyond basic counting and percentages. You’ll walk away with a concrete understanding of how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and the rest actually work under the hood: the probabilistic nature of LLMs, the importance of training data, and how bias and design decisions show up in the output.

Medium (≈150 words)#

Despite the rapid uptake of AI around the globe, most people have no real mental model of what’s actually happening under the hood of our most popular AI tools. Rather than accepting the hand-wave-y and mystical-sounding explanations, join us in this fun and informative workshop where you’ll learn about Large Language Models (LLMs)—the technology behind ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot—without actually touching any tech.

Through hands-on activities and discussion, you’ll learn the basic principles and language of LLMs: the probabilistic nature of these models, the importance of training data, and the ways that bias and engineered decisions in the models may present themselves. No coding background required, and no maths beyond basic counting and percentages. Suitable for educators, professionals, policymakers, and anyone curious about how AI actually works.

Long (≈260 words)#

Despite the rapid uptake of AI around the globe (including right here in Australia), most people have no real mental model of what’s actually happening under the hood of our most popular AI tools.

Rather than accepting the hand-wave-y and mystical-sounding explanations, join us in this fun and informative workshop where you’ll learn about Large Language Models (LLMs)—the technology behind the mind-boggling abilities of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot—without actually touching any tech. Through hands-on activities and discussion, you’ll learn the basic principles and language of LLMs.

Why you should attend#

Having a better understanding of how large language models work will help to demystify AI and provide a shared understanding and vocabulary for framing AI systems. These foundations will help you better understand the probabilistic nature of LLMs, the importance of data, and the ways that bias and engineered decisions in the models may present themselves.

A note for educators#

If you’re a high school or upper primary teacher and find yourself having conversations with your students about AI, this workshop is for you. Our activities can be easily replicated in the classroom with readily available materials and are supported by a range of open-access online resources. The workshop relates to core curriculum outcomes in maths, technologies, HASS and literacy and requires zero coding background and no maths beyond basic counting and percentages.