Act 1: Meet Your AI Research Assistant 🤖
January 4, 2026 · View on GitHub
The Challenge
You're launching "Future Bytes," your new tech podcast. Episode 1 is about the latest AI breakthroughs, but you've got 24 hours to:
- Research the topic
- Find credible sources
- Write a compelling script
- Make it sound natural
Plot twist: You don't have to do it alone. You're about to build your first AI assistant who can help with all of this. Let's call them Alex — your tireless research partner who never needs sleep.
Why Small Language Models? (Spoiler: They're Awesome)
Think of Small Language Models (SLMs) as your personal AI that lives on your computer. No cloud, no monthly fees, no sketchy data sharing.
Why SLMs are 🔥:
- 🏠 Runs on Your Machine: Laptop, desktop, even a beefy Raspberry Pi
- 💸 Zero Ongoing Costs: No API fees eating your lunch money
- 🔒 Privacy First: Your data never leaves your device
- ⚡ Lightning Fast: No internet lag, instant responses
- 🪦 Lightweight: 1B-10B parameters vs 100B+ for the big guys
Popular SLMs: Qwen 3, Phi-4, Gemma 3 (we're using Qwen for this workshop)
Your Toolkit
Ollama: Your AI Model Manager
Ollama is like Steam for AI models. Download, run, and manage models with simple commands.
What makes it cool:
- One command to download and run any model
- Works on Mac, Windows, Linux
- Automatically uses your GPU if you have one
- Super memory-efficient
Microsoft Agent Framework: Where the Magic Happens
Microsoft Agent Framework is your playground for building AI agents that can:
- 💬 Chat and remember what you talked about
- 🛠️ Use custom tools (like searching the web or checking weather)
- 🧠 Think through complex problems step-by-step
- 🤝 Work with other agents as a team
- 🔌 Connect to different AI providers (OpenAI, Ollama, Azure)
The Building Blocks:
- Agents: Your AI assistants with specific jobs
- Tools: Special abilities you give them
- Memory: So they don't forget your conversation
- Reasoning: Teaching them to think, not just respond
Your Training Montage: 4 Missions
Mission 1: Create Your First Agent
The Quest: Build Alex, your podcast scriptwriter AI. Alex needs to generate dialogue between two hosts discussing tech topics.
What You'll Learn:
- How to wake up an AI agent (it's easier than waking up on Monday)
- Give it personality and instructions
- Make it generate actual podcast scripts
- Understand what it's saying back to you
Victory Condition: Alex creates a script for your "Future Bytes" pilot episode about AI! 🎯
Mission 2: Give Alex Superpowers (Tools!)
The Quest: Alex is smart, but it doesn't know today's weather or what time it is. Let's fix that by giving it tools!
What You'll Learn:
- Create custom Python functions as "tools"
- Let Alex decide when to use which tool
- Watch it autonomously solve problems
- Combine multiple tools for complex tasks
Victory Condition: Ask "What's the weather in Tokyo?" and Alex figures it out on its own! ☁️
Mission 3: Teach Alex to Think
The Quest: Make Alex show its work. When solving problems, you want to see how it thinks, not just the answer.
What You'll Learn:
- Activate "reasoning mode" (it's like showing your work in math class)
- See Alex's step-by-step thought process
- Understand chain-of-thought prompting
- Debug when Alex gets confused
Victory Condition: Ask a tricky math problem and watch Alex think it through! 🧠
Mission 4: Connect Alex to the Internet
The Quest: Alex's knowledge has a cutoff date. Let's connect it to the web for real-time info!
What You'll Learn:
- Build a custom web search tool
- Integrate external APIs
- Handle network errors gracefully
- Get info beyond Alex's training data
Victory Condition: Ask about today's tech news and get fresh results! 📰
Before You Start 🚀
Required Gear:
- Python 3.10+ installed
- Ollama running (check with
ollama --version) - VS Code with Python extension
- At least 8GB RAM (16GB if you want smooth vibes)
Mission Order
Follow the notebooks in sequence for the full story:
- 00.BasicAgent-agent.ipynb — Meet Alex (your first agent)
- 01.BasicAgent-tools.ipynb — Power-up time!
- 02.BasicAgent-reasoning.ipynb — Teach Alex to think
- 03.BasicAgent-websearch.ipynb — Internet access unlocked!
What You'll Master
After Act 1, you'll be able to:
- ✅ Run AI models on your own hardware (no cloud needed!)
- ✅ Build agents with custom personalities and skills
- ✅ Give agents tools to solve real-world problems
- ✅ Make agents show their reasoning process
- ✅ Connect agents to external data sources
- ✅ Debug when things go sideways
When Things Break (And How to Fix Them) 🔧
"Alex won't load! Out of memory!"
The Fix: Your computer's struggling. Try closing other apps, or switch to a smaller model. 8GB RAM is the bare minimum.
"Alex is soooo slow"
The Fix: Enable GPU acceleration in Ollama settings. Or reduce the context window size. Speed demon mode activated! 🏎️
"Tools aren't working!"
The Fix: Double-check your function signatures. Alex needs proper type hints to understand what the tool does. Think of it like giving clear instructions.
Helpful Links 🔗
- Agent Framework Docs — Official guides and examples
- Ollama Model Library — Browse all available models
- Qwen Model — Meet your AI's brain
- Code Examples — Steal ideas from here
Next Up: Act 2 🎬
You've got one agent. But what if you had a team of agents working together? In Act 2, you'll build your full podcast production crew:
- Researcher Agent: Finds the best sources
- Writer Agent: Crafts the perfect script
- Editor (You!): Approves or requests changes
Let's orchestrate some AI magic! → Act 2: Assemble Your Production Team
Stuck? Ask questions during the workshop. We're all learning together! 🙌