Preface

You hear words like tokens, prompts, models and agents, often from people who seem to assume you already know them. Nobody showed you which part is which, so it is hard to know what to ask. This book shows you the parts of an AI system one at a time, in plain English, the way you might learn the parts of a car before you shop for one.

It is written for people who use AI tools, or are about to, at work or at home: an accountant closing the books, a manager screening applicants, a teacher planning a unit, a student, a coach, a caregiver. It assumes no technical background. Every new word is explained before it is used, and the parts list at the back gathers them all.

Each chapter starts from a situation you may recognize, often a real one, then asks what happened, explains the part of the system behind it, and gives you something to try. A short review closes each chapter, with the answers after the questions so you can test yourself first. The first time through, read the chapters in order; each builds on the ones before. After that, any chapter can be read on its own.

Every fact has a numbered note, and the notes, gathered by chapter at the back, give the full source. Where the book names a product or a model, it is an example, dated “as of” the edition. Products change quickly; the parts they illustrate don’t.

This is an introduction, not a reference. For any product’s current features or terms, check that company’s own documentation.

On the web. Turn the page with Back and Next at the foot of each page, the ← and → keys, or a swipe on a phone; the contents are at the top of every page, with a ✓ on the pages you have read. A small number after a sentence opens its note, and each page lists its notes at its foot. The ribbon at the top of a page bookmarks it, and Aa sets the typeface, the size, the spacing, the width and a light, sepia or night theme. Cite this page, at the foot, gives the page in Chicago, APA, MLA and BibTeX. Words with a dotted underline lead to the parts list, and the interactives, each introduced by “Try it,” respond to a tap or a click. Your place, your bookmarks and your settings are kept only in this browser and never sent anywhere.