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 IV

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

Business Integration Systems - Stripe, Shopify, Salesforce Patterns

Master Payment Processing, Transaction Handling, and Enterprise Integration

Complete your system thinking transformation with business and integration patterns. Learn through 4 progressive case studies from P2P payments to dynamic pricing marketplaces, mastering the patterns behind every business-critical system.

Prerequisites: Courses I, II, & III (required)

Course at a Glance

Case Studies

12+

Video Lessons

Interactive Labs

Comprehensive Assessment

Challenge Parts

Four Progressive Case Studies

Course IV completes your transformation with business-critical patterns. You'll master transaction processing, payment integration, and enterprise system patterns.

1. Social Payment Application: P2P Transactions

Building Blocks: Service + Relational DB + External Service

Learn: Transaction processing architecture, security design patterns, regulatory compliance strategies (Venmo-style systems)

Payment transaction workflow design
Security and fraud prevention patterns
Compliance and regulatory architectural approaches

Note: We focus on transaction architecture and security patterns, not specific payment processors or compliance tools.

2. Online Store Platform: E-Commerce at Scale

Building Blocks: Service + Relational DB + Queue + Worker + External Service

Learn: Inventory management patterns, order fulfillment architectures, payment integration strategies (Shopify-style systems)

Shopping cart and checkout flow design
Inventory tracking and update patterns
Order processing pipeline architectures

Note: We focus on e-commerce architecture and fulfillment patterns, not specific inventory systems or payment gateways.

3. Auction-Based Marketplace: Real-Time Bidding

Building Blocks: Service + Relational DB + Queue for bid processing

Learn: Concurrent bidding architecture, transaction isolation strategies, winner determination patterns (eBay-style systems)

Real-time bid processing design
Transaction isolation architectural strategies
Winner selection algorithm patterns

Note: We focus on auction architecture and concurrency patterns, not specific database transaction mechanisms.

4. Dynamic Pricing Marketplace: AI-Driven Decisions

Building Blocks: Service + Relational DB + External Service

Learn: Real-time pricing architecture, demand prediction patterns, dynamic adjustment strategies (Uber surge pricing-style systems)

Dynamic pricing architectural strategies
AI-powered demand forecasting patterns
Real-time price adjustment design

Note: We focus on pricing architecture and AI integration patterns, not specific ML models or forecasting algorithms.

Why This Course Series?

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

A Framework That Doesn't Exist Elsewhere

YouTube videos teach you about Stripe APIs. Blog posts explain payment flows. But where's the systematic framework that ties it all together?

7 building blocks. Every system. Same patterns. This framework was developed over 10 years of teaching at UC Berkeley.

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 IV in the Bundle

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

$399 $596

Early bird bundle includes:

✓ All 4 courses (I, II, III, IV)
✓ Weekly Q&A videos with Kay
✓ 7 Building Blocks Cheatsheet

*Early bird perks available only during launch period

Start Your Journey Now

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

Start with Course I

7-day money-back guarantee on Course I

Why Business Integration Domain Expertise Completes Your Transformation

Business systems are career-critical: Stripe's payment processing, Shopify's e-commerce platform, Salesforce's CRM integration, Uber's dynamic pricing. Understanding business patterns gives you architectural fluency in revenue-generating and enterprise systems.

What You'll Master

Payment processing: Transaction workflows, security patterns, fraud prevention, compliance automation
E-commerce patterns: Shopping carts, inventory management, order fulfillment pipelines
Transaction handling: ACID properties, isolation levels, concurrent transaction management
Enterprise integration: External service patterns, API gateway strategies, data synchronization
AI-powered business logic: Dynamic pricing, demand forecasting, recommendation engines

These patterns apply whether you're building a payment platform, online marketplace, or enterprise system. Master business integration, and you'll have architectural expertise across all business-critical domains.

Complete Your Transformation - The Final Course

Systems Thinking in the AI Era is a 4-course comprehensive transformation program. Course IV completes your journey, giving you pattern mastery across all major 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)

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

✅ Course III: Real-Time Systems (Required)

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

📍 Course IV: Business Integration Systems (This Course - Coming Soon)

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

Complete all four courses to become a Senior Systems Thinking Architect - with architectural expertise across every domain.

Complete the Full Course Series

Course IV will be available soon. Start with Course I to begin building the architectural thinking skills that matter in every domain.

Start with Course I

Four courses. Complete transformation. Architectural mastery.