{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "content": "---\ntitle: \"DIYChatGPT Short Course for ANU Undergraduates\"\ndescription: \"A hands-on 3-hour workshop where ANU undergrads train their own language\n  model from scratch with pen, paper and dice---ending with a poetry slam.\"\n---\n\nIf you're an ANU undergraduate student you can enrol in an\n[upcoming 3hr course](https://mccuskerinstitute.anu.edu.au/study/knots/diy-chatgpt-llms-as-information-processing-machines/)\nI've created called _DIY ChatGPT: LLMs as Information Processing Machines_. It's\nrunning for the first time on **Thursday 17 July, 10am--1pm** (although it will\nrun again later in the semester).\n\nHere's the blurb:\n\n> In this hands-on workshop you will train and use your own language model from\n> scratch - with just pen and paper and a bit of dice rolling. Through\n> interactive exercises and guided discussions, you’ll see how language models\n> (even large language models like ChatGPT) are fundamentally information\n> processing machines, turning language inputs into language outputs. The\n> workshop builds from basic principles to more complex applications through an\n> exploration of language modeling as a probabilistic process of predicting\n> “what token comes next” in a sequence, and ends with a poetry slam (for real).\n\nThis course is a\n[\"Know the Nature Of Things\" KNoT](https://mccuskerinstitute.anu.edu.au/study/knots_explained/)\noffered as part of the ANU's\n[McCusker Institute](https://mccuskerinstitute.anu.edu.au/). They're for-credit\ncourses run by different folks all across campus, and a great way to explore\nsome of the cool stuff going on at ANU.\n",
  "createdAt": "2026-05-13T23:14:44.421Z",
  "description": "A hands-on 3-hour workshop where ANU undergrads train their own language model from scratch with pen, paper and dice---ending with a poetry slam.",
  "path": "/blog/2025/07/07/diychatgpt-short-course-for-anu-undergraduates",
  "publishedAt": "2025-07-07T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:tevykrhi4kibtsipzci76d76/site.standard.publication/self",
  "textContent": "A hands-on 3-hour workshop where ANU undergrads train their own language model from scratch with pen, paper and dice---ending with a poetry slam.",
  "title": "DIYChatGPT Short Course for ANU Undergraduates"
}