Why I'm Building an AI Course for Real People (Not Just Tech Bros)

Three months ago, I decided to build an AI education platform. Not because I'm a coding genius (I'm not), but because I got tired of seeing AI treated like this mystical thing only tech bros understand. I wanted to democratize it. Make it real. Make it fun.

Today, I'm documenting the journey. The wins, the bugs, the "why did I think I could do this?" moments. Because if you're thinking about building a course or learning platform, you need to see what this actually looks like behind the scenes.

The Problem I'm Solving:

Most AI courses are either too technical (you need a CS degree to understand them) or too surface-level (you learn nothing actionable). I wanted to build something in the middle—accessible, engaging, and actually useful for people who want to understand AI without becoming software engineers.

Enter: gamified learning. Quizzes, points, leaderboards, adaptive difficulty. Make it feel like a game, and people actually stick with it.

Phase 1: The Core Quiz Engine (Where I Am Now)

Right now, I'm building the foundation. The quiz engine needs to:

• Deliver questions dynamically: Not just a static list. The system needs to pull from a database and serve them in a way that keeps users engaged.
• Track scores and streaks: Gamification 101. People want to see progress. I'm building a scoring system that rewards consistency, not just correctness.
• Provide instant feedback: After each answer, users get an explanation. This is where the real learning happens—not just "you got it right," but "here's why that's the right answer and how it connects to real AI."
• Adapt to user level: Phase 1 is basic, but I'm architecting it so Phase 2 can layer in AI-powered adaptive questioning. If someone's crushing beginner questions, the system moves them up. If they're struggling, it adjusts.

The Tech Stack (Keeping It Real):

I'm using React for the frontend (because I needed to learn it anyway), Node.js for the backend, and MongoDB for the database. Not the fanciest setup, but it's scalable and I can actually maintain it solo.

I considered no-code tools. Seriously. But I wanted full control over the experience, and I knew I'd hit limitations fast with a template-based platform. So I'm building it from scratch. It's slower, but it's mine.

The Honest Part:

I've rewritten the quiz logic twice already. The first version was overcomplicated. The second version was too simple. I'm on version three, and it's finally clicking. This is normal. Expect to throw away code. Expect to feel frustrated. That's the process.

I'm also learning as I go. I didn't know React six months ago. Now I'm building a full platform with it. YouTube, Stack Overflow, and a lot of coffee got me here.

Timeline & What's Coming:

Phase 1 (Current): Core quiz engine, basic gamification, 50+ AI questions

Phase 2 (Next 2 months): Adaptive AI-powered questioning, social features (compare scores with friends), cross-platform sync

Phase 3 (6+ months): Advanced analytics, global leaderboards, content expansion, partnerships with other AI educators

The Vision:

I want to build a community where people feel excited about learning AI. Not intimidated. Not bored. Excited. That's the north star for every feature I build.

Your Input Matters:

What would make you want to learn AI? What's holding you back right now? Is it the complexity? The jargon? Not knowing where to start? Drop your thoughts in the comments. I'm reading every single one, and your feedback is shaping what I build.

CTA: Want to follow this journey? Subscribe to the blog for weekly updates on the course development. And if you want early access to beta test the quiz engine when it's ready, join our community Discord (link below). Beta testers get lifetime access to the course, plus your name in the credits.

Next Week: I'll dive into the technical architecture—how the quiz engine actually works under the hood, the database schema, and the decisions I made (and why some of them were wrong).