What is Systems Thinking in the AI Era?

Systems Thinking in the AI Era is a 4-course series that teaches the universal framework for understanding how systems work. You'll master 7 universal building blocks + 3 external entities through hands-on discovery labs, real-world case studies, and system design challenges. Whether you're an engineer, data scientist, or technical leader, this develops architectural decision-making skills that let you direct AI tools effectively.

How many courses are in the series?

4 courses total: I: The Seven Building Blocks (available now), II: Content Systems (coming soon), III: Real-Time Systems (coming soon), IV: Business Integration Systems (coming soon). Course I is the required foundation for all other courses.

What are the 7 universal building blocks?

The 7 universal building blocks are: Service (request/response), Worker (background processing), Key-Value Store (caching), File Store (media storage), Queue (messaging), Relational Database (structured data), and Vector Database (AI/similarity search). These interface patterns power Instagram, Netflix, Uber, Gmail, and every system you use daily.

How does system thinking help me work with AI?

AI tools excel at implementation but require human guidance for architectural decisions. System thinkers understand when to use which building block patterns, how to compose them for specific requirements, and how to evolve systems over time. This high-level thinking lets you direct AI tools effectively—you make the architectural decisions while AI helps with implementation.

How much does the course series cost?

Each course is $299. Start with the free 8-minute preview to experience the transformation, then enroll in Course I: The Seven Building Blocks. Additional courses can be purchased individually as you progress through the series.

Do I need programming experience?

Yes, you should be comfortable reading and understanding code. The course focuses on system design and architectural thinking rather than teaching programming fundamentals. If you can implement features but struggle with architectural decisions like 'How would you design Instagram?', this course is perfect for you.

How much time does Course I take to complete?

Course I is designed as a 10-week experience, with 1-2 hours of content per week. This includes 12 video lessons, 2 interactive Python labs, comprehensive assessment, and a 3-part system design challenge. The course is self-paced—you can move faster if you'd like. All content remains accessible forever.

Who is the instructor?

Kay Ashaolu is a Continuing Lecturer at UC Berkeley School of Information with 10+ years teaching experience, and an Engineering Manager with 15+ years industry experience at Pinterest, AncestryDNA, and Morgan Stanley. He holds degrees from Princeton University (B.S.E. Electrical Engineering) and UC Berkeley (M.I.M.S.). His research focuses on accelerating professional growth for early-career software engineers.

COMING SOON

Systems Thinking in the AI Era III

Name: Systems Thinking in the AI Era
Price: 50 USD
Availability: PreOrder

Take the seven building blocks to the next level. A deep dive into real-time systems like Slack, Discord, and WhatsApp so you can architect low-latency, message-driven applications with confidence.

Real-Time Messaging. WebSocket Patterns. Low-Latency Communication.

Apply the seven building blocks from Course I to real-time and communication systems. Learn through 6 progressive case studies from social feeds to AI chatbots to video conferencing, internalizing the patterns behind every messaging and collaboration platform.

Prerequisites: Course I & II (required)

Course at a Glance

Case Studies

12+

Video Lessons

Interactive Labs

Comprehensive Assessment

Challenge Parts

Six Progressive Case Studies

Course III explores real-time and communication systems with progressive complexity. You'll master patterns from eventual consistency to hard real-time constraints.

1. Social Media Platform: Eventual Consistency

Building Blocks: Queue + Worker for news feed generation

Learn: Asynchronous processing patterns, feed generation strategies, notification delivery architectures

Fan-out feed generation architectural patterns
Queue-based notification design strategies
Eventual consistency trade-off analysis

Note: We focus on general feed generation patterns and notification architectures, not specific message queue implementations.

2. Collaborative Documents: Real-Time Sync

Building Blocks: Service + real-time patterns + conflict resolution

Learn: Synchronization strategies, concurrent editing architectures (Google Docs-style patterns)

Real-time connection management patterns
Operational transformation design strategies
Concurrent edit conflict resolution approaches

Note: We focus on synchronization patterns and conflict resolution strategies, not specific protocol implementations.

3. Messaging Apps: Instant Communication

Building Blocks: Service + Queue + presence patterns

Learn: Message routing architecture, delivery guarantee strategies, presence design (Slack, WhatsApp-style systems)

Message routing and delivery patterns
Presence detection architectural strategies
Read receipt and typing indicator design

Note: We focus on messaging architecture patterns and delivery strategies, not specific messaging protocols or services.

4. AI Chatbots: Conversational Interfaces

Building Blocks: Service + External Service + Vector DB

Learn: Streaming response patterns, context management strategies, AI-enhanced real-time processing

Streaming response design patterns
Conversation context architectural strategies
Semantic memory integration patterns

Note: We focus on conversational architecture and AI integration patterns, not specific LLM APIs or vector database tools.

5. Video Conferencing: Hard Real-Time Multimedia

Building Blocks: Service + real-time streaming patterns

Learn: Hard real-time constraint strategies, adaptive quality patterns (Zoom-style architectures)

Peer-to-peer connection design patterns
Adaptive bitrate streaming strategies
Latency optimization architectural approaches

Note: We focus on real-time multimedia architecture and latency strategies, not specific streaming protocol implementations.

6. Link Shortener: High-Performance Utilities

Building Blocks: Service + Key Value Store

Learn: Low-latency design patterns, high-availability strategies, global distribution architectures

Ultra-low latency architectural patterns
Geographic distribution strategies
High availability design approaches

Note: We focus on performance optimization patterns and availability strategies, not specific caching implementations or distribution services.

Why This Course Series?

There's plenty of free content on system design. Here's why this is different.

The Framework Is Free. Architecting Real-Time Systems Is Not.

This course is the reps: 6 progressive case studies on Slack, Discord, and WhatsApp patterns, AI-graded designs, and a 3-part challenge that forces you to apply the framework without the cheat sheet.

Feedback On Your Thinking

Free resources teach you concepts. They don't tell you if you're applying them correctly.

This course series includes AI-powered feedback on your assessments and design challenges. Submit your designs. Get specific feedback on what you got right and what you missed.

A Rare Combination

20+ years building commercial software at scale.
10+ years teaching at the university level.

Most practitioners can't teach. Most teachers haven't built. This course is designed by someone who's done both.

Let's Talk About Value

What others charge:

Interview prep courses: $500–$2,000
Bootcamps: $10,000–$20,000
1-on-1 coaching: $200/hour

What this course series gives you:

Complete framework across 4 domains
AI feedback on your work
Portfolio-ready design challenges

Start with Course I for $99 (launch price — becomes $149). Build your foundation first.

EARLY BIRD

Get Course III in the Bundle + Perks

Courses II-IV are available exclusively in the 4-Course Bundle.

$399 $596

All 4 courses • Course I available now • II-IV on release

✓ Weekly Q&A with Kay ✓ Building Blocks Cheatsheet

Start Your Journey Now

Course III requires completing Courses I & II first.
The next Course I cohort starts Sunday.

Start with Course I

7-day money-back guarantee on Course I

Why Real-Time Systems Domain Expertise Matters

Real-time systems power modern collaboration: Slack's messaging, Discord's voice chat, Google Docs' collaborative editing, Zoom's video conferencing. Understanding real-time patterns gives you architectural fluency in communication and collaboration systems.

What You'll Master

WebSocket patterns: Bi-directional real-time communication, connection management, presence systems
Message delivery: Routing algorithms, delivery guarantees, read receipts, typing indicators
Concurrent editing: Operational transformation, conflict resolution, synchronization strategies
Low-latency optimization: Sub-millisecond responses, geographic distribution, caching strategies
Hard real-time constraints: WebRTC patterns, adaptive quality, multimedia streaming

These patterns apply whether you're building a chat app, collaborative editor, video platform, or AI assistant. Master real-time systems, and you'll have architectural expertise in communication and collaboration domains.

Your Learning Path in the Course Series

Systems Thinking in the AI Era is a 4-course comprehensive transformation program. Each course builds on the previous, developing complete pattern recognition across all system domains.

✅ Course I: Universal Building Blocks (Required Foundation)

Master the 7 building blocks + 3 external entities. Develop pattern recognition, trade-off analysis, and architectural decision-making.

✅ Course II: Content Systems (Required Before Course III)

Apply building blocks to Instagram, Netflix, YouTube patterns. Master read-heavy workloads, caching strategies, and global content delivery.

📍 Course III: Real-Time Systems (This Course - Coming Soon)

Learn Slack, Discord, WhatsApp patterns. Master real-time messaging, WebSocket patterns, presence systems, and low-latency communication.

🔜 Course IV: Business Integration Systems (After Course III)

Master Stripe, Shopify, Salesforce patterns. Learn payment processing, transaction handling, compliance automation, and enterprise integration.

Complete Courses I & II to Unlock Course III

Course III will be available soon. Build your foundation with Courses I and II first to be ready for advanced real-time system patterns.

Start with Course I

Sequential learning path ensures deep mastery of system thinking