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Participant note · recordings · prep · time zones

Welcome to Learning Machines.

This is the short orientation note for registered participants: what gets recorded, what the camp is and is not, what to do before Session 1, and where to check the 9am Pacific start in your time zone.

§ A · Recordings first

async is a full path

Every session is recorded. Recordings are shared after each session by unlisted YouTube link. Anyone with the link may be able to view or reshare it; unlisted does not mean private. Written-recap consent controls public use of names, words, and described work, not access to or removal from an existing recording. If you cannot attend live, the async route is a full path through the camp, not a consolation: watch the recording, run the worksheet with the frozen examples, and bring one observation to the next session or recap thread.

§ B · Scope

what we are here to do

We investigate how models behave — we don't train them from scratch.

The work is taking finished systems apart: predicting, changing one thing, comparing what moved, and naming the human decision behind it. You do not need a coding background or a machine-learning background.

§ C · Prep

nothing required

Come as you are.

Nothing is required before the first session. No accounts, no installs, no paid tools, and no pre-reading. The core activities run in the browser on frozen examples, so you can participate even if you never log into an AI system.

If you like to arrive warm, open Start Here and choose one route. Optional pre-reads are optional.

Words we will use.

The Vocabulary Field Guide is the plain-language primer for terms like token, temperature, diffusion, default, latent space, hallucination, and coherence. It is there so the words do not become a gate.

§ D · Time zones

9-11 am Pacific is not gentle everywhere

Use the timezone table.

Sessions run 9:00-11:00 am Pacific on Saturdays. Use the full table on Dates & Logistics for your local conversion.

If the live time is brutal for you, use the recordings and frozen examples without apology. That route is designed into the camp.