🎓 The Capstone: YOU Are the AI Engineer! 🎓

You have learned the theory. Now you will be the Engineer.

We are going to use a tool from Google called Teachable Machine. It lets you train a Neural Network right in your browser, with NO CODE!

     🎩
    /👁️\    
   | 🔧 |   <- THIS IS YOU NOW!
    \___/     (An AI Engineer!)
     | |
    /   \

The Mission 🎯

Goal: Train an AI to recognize “Rock,” “Paper,” and “Scissors” using your webcam!

WHAT YOU'LL BUILD:
┌─────────────────────┐
│   Your Webcam       │
│       ↓             │
│   Your AI Model     │
│       ↓             │
│  "That's ROCK!"     │
└─────────────────────┘

This is REAL machine learning! The same kind that powers Face ID and Snapchat filters!

Step 1: The Setup 🛠️

1. Go to teachablemachine.withgoogle.com
2. Click “Get Started”
3. Choose “Image Project”
4. Select “Standard Image Model”

You should see a screen with “Class 1” and “Class 2”!

WHAT YOU'LL SEE:
┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐
│   Class 1    │  │   Class 2    │
│              │  │              │
│  [Webcam]    │  │  [Webcam]    │
└──────────────┘  └──────────────┘

Step 2: Gather Data (Feeding Your AI) 🍎

Remember Lesson 2? Data is Food! Now we feed our AI!

Training “Rock” ✊

1. Rename “Class 1” to “Rock”
2. Click the Webcam button
3. Make a fist (Rock symbol ✊)
4. Hold down “Hold to Record” button
5. While holding it, move your hand around!
   • Move it close to camera
   • Move it far away
   • Move it left and right
   • Tilt it at different angles

Goal: Get 50-100 images of “Rock”

💡 Pro Tip: Variety helps! The more angles you show, the smarter your AI becomes!

Training “Paper” ✋

1. Rename “Class 2” to “Paper”
2. Click Webcam
3. Hold your hand flat (Paper symbol ✋)
4. Hold to Record and move around (50-100 images)

Training “Scissors” ✌️

1. Click “Add a Class” (creates Class 3)
2. Rename it to “Scissors”
3. Click Webcam
4. Make peace sign (Scissors symbol ✌️)
5. Hold to Record and move around (50-100 images)

YOUR TRAINING DATA:
┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐
│  ✊ ROCK  │  │  ✋ PAPER │  │✌️SCISSORS│
│ 50-100   │  │ 50-100   │  │ 50-100   │
│ images   │  │ images   │  │ images   │
└──────────┘  └──────────┘  └──────────┘
        ↓          ↓          ↓
      TRAINING SET (your AI's food!)

Step 3: Train Your Model 🧠

This is where the MAGIC happens!

1. Click the big “Train Model” button
2. Wait! Do NOT close the tab!
3. Watch the progress bar
4. The machine is learning patterns (just like we learned in Lesson 3!)

WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE:
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ Neural Network is:         │
│ • Looking at all images    │
│ • Finding patterns         │
│ • Adjusting weights        │
│ • Getting smarter!         │
└────────────────────────────┘
⚡ Crunching millions of numbers! ⚡

This usually takes 30-60 seconds. Be patient!

🚀 While You Wait

Think about what the AI is learning:

• “Rock images have a closed fist shape”
• “Paper images show 5 fingers spread out”
• “Scissors images show 2 fingers in a V”

Just like YOU learned these as a kid by seeing examples!

Step 4: Test the Magic! ✨

1. Look at the “Preview” section on the right
2. Turn on your webcam
3. Make a Rock symbol ✊
   • Does the bar say “Rock”?
4. Try Scissors ✌️
   • Does it recognize it?
5. Try Paper ✋
   • How confident is it?

EXAMPLE OUTPUT:
┌─────────────────┐
│ Rock:     95%   │ ████████████████
│ Paper:     3%   │ █
│ Scissors:  2%   │ █
└─────────────────┘
The AI is 95% confident it's Rock!

🎉 If It Works…

CONGRATULATIONS! You just trained a Deep Learning Computer Vision Model! You are officially an AI Developer! 🎓

😕 If It Doesn’t Work Well…

No problem! This means you need more/better data!

• Go back to Step 2
• Add more examples (especially angles that confused it)
• Retrain in Step 3

Remember: Even professional AI engineers retrain their models many times!

Challenge Level UP! 🚀

Challenge 1: The “Nothing” Class

Problem: What happens if you leave the room? The AI might flicker between Rock/Paper/Scissors randomly!

Fix: Add a 4th Class!

1. Click “Add a Class”
2. Name it “Empty” or “Nothing”
3. Record the background with NO hand in view
4. Retrain
5. Now it should stay stable when you’re not there! ✅

Challenge 2: Test on a Friend!

Ask a friend or family member to try it! Question: Does it work for their hands too? Why might it fail? Maybe they have bigger/smaller hands than you!

Fix: Add examples of THEIR hands to your training data!

Challenge 3: Two-Hand Mode!

Can you train it to recognize two hands making the sign at once? Try it!

Challenge 4: Add More Signs!

Add new classes:

• “Thumbs Up” 👍
• “Peace Sign” ✌️
• “OK Sign” 👌

Get creative!

What You Just Learned 🎓

By completing this project, you experienced:

✅ Data Collection (taking photos of hand signs) ✅ Labeling (naming each class Rock/Paper/Scissors) ✅ Training (letting the AI find patterns) ✅ Testing (checking if it works) ✅ Iteration (improving with more data)

This is EXACTLY what professional AI engineers do! You just did it yourself! 🌟

THE AI DEVELOPMENT CYCLE:
┌──────────────┐
│ Collect Data │
└──────┬───────┘
       ↓
┌──────────────┐
│ Label Data   │
└──────┬───────┘
       ↓
┌──────────────┐
│ Train Model  │
└──────┬───────┘
       ↓
┌──────────────┐
│ Test Model   │
└──────┬───────┘
       ↓
    Works? ────NO──→ Add more data! (loop back)
       │
      YES
       ↓
   DONE! 🎉

Export Your Model 📦

Want to save your AI? You can!

1. Click “Export Model”
2. Choose your format
   • Teachable Machine: Share with friends (gives you a link!)
   • TensorFlow: For Python programmers
   • TensorFlow.js: For websites

Save your model! You built it, you own it!

Your Next Steps 🚀

Now that you know how AI works, where do you go next?

Beginner Path:

1. ✅ You just did this! (Teachable Machine)
2. Play with Quick, Draw! (see how AI recognizes doodles)
3. Try AI Experiments at experiments.withgoogle.com

Intermediate Path:

1. Learn Python basics (Check out our Python course!)
2. Try Scratch AI projects
3. Experiment with more Teachable Machine projects

Advanced Path:

1. Learn Python + TensorFlow
2. Build your first AI with code
3. Take online AI courses (Coursera, Khan Academy)
4. Join AI clubs or competitions!

YOUR AI JOURNEY:
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Level 1: Teachable   │ ← YOU ARE HERE! ✅
│ Level 2: Python      │
│ Level 3: TensorFlow  │
│ Level 4: Build Apps  │
│ Level 5: AI Engineer │
└──────────────────────┘

Your AI Developer Certificate 🏅

═══════════════════════════════════════
          AI DEVELOPER CERTIFICATE
───────────────────────────────────────
             THIS CERTIFIES THAT

          [YOUR NAME HERE]

    HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE
          WHAT IS AI? COURSE

             AND HAS EARNED THE
                 TITLE OF

           🤖 AI EXPLORER 🤖

    Skills Mastered:
    ✓ Understanding AI vs Traditional Code
    ✓ Supervised Learning Concepts
    ✓ Neural Network Architecture
    ✓ Generative AI & Prompt Engineering
    ✓ AI Ethics & Deepfake Detection
    ✓ Building & Training AI Models

        Date: January 10, 2026
        
   "The best way to predict the future
         is to invent it"
           - Alan Kay

═══════════════════════════════════════

Print this! You earned it! 🎉

Final Thoughts 💭

You started this course not knowing what AI really was.

Now you:

• Understand how AI learns (patterns from data)
• Can spot bias and deepfakes
• Know how to write good prompts
• Built your OWN working AI model!

You’re not just using AI—you UNDERSTAND it.

That makes you part of an elite group! Most people have NO IDEA how this technology works. But YOU do! 🌟

🔍 AI Detective’s Final Message:

“Remember: AI is just a tool. It’s not magic, it’s not alive, and it’s not smarter than you—it just processes patterns faster. YOU have creativity, common sense, and ethics. Don’t let AI replace your thinking—use it to enhance it!”

💡 Parent/Teacher Celebration

This is a HUGE accomplishment! Your learner now understands one of the most important technologies of the 21st century! Consider:

• Having them demo their Teachable Machine project to family
• Discussing real-world AI applications at dinner
• Encouraging them to explore more AI projects
• Following AI news together and discussing it

Stay Curious! 🔭

AI is changing FAST. What you learned today is just the beginning!

Keep learning. Keep building. Keep asking questions.

The future needs people like you who understand AI AND care about using it responsibly!

🎉 Achievement Unlocked: AI MASTER! Final Level: EXPERT (6/6 complete!)

You did it! Now go build something amazing! 🚀

🌟 Share Your Success!

Built something cool? Want to show it off?

• Share with your teacher
• Show your family
• Post in AI learning communities (with parent permission!)
• Keep a portfolio of your AI projects!

📚 Recommended Next Steps

1. Python for Beginners (our course!) - Learn to code
2. AI For Everyone (Coursera) - Free course by Andrew Ng
3. Code.org AI - Interactive AI lessons
4. MIT App Inventor - Build AI apps visually
5. Join a coding club - Find friends who love AI!

Remember: Every expert was once a beginner. You just took your first big step!

This post is part of the What is AI? series.