# Act 1: Meet Your AI Research Assistant 🤖

![lab1](../../../../translated_images/pcm/lab1.1dd5210a7d114e2e.webp)

## The Challenge

You dey launch "Future Bytes," your new tech podcast. Episode 1 na about the latest AI breakthroughs, but you get 24 hours to:
1. Research the topic
2. Find credible sources
3. Write a compelling script
4. Make am sound natural

**Plot twist**: You no gats do am alone. You go build your first AI assistant wey fit help you for all dis kain work. Make we call am Alex — your tireless research partner wey no dey need sleep.

## Why Small Language Models? (Spoiler: Dem Dey Awesome)

Think Small Language Models (SLMs) as your personal AI wey dey live for *your* computer. No cloud, no monthly fees, no sketchy data sharing.

**Why SLMs dey 🔥:**
- **🏠 Runs on Your Machine**: Laptop, desktop, even one beefy Raspberry Pi
- **💸 Zero Ongoing Costs**: No API fees wey go chop your money
- **🔒 Privacy First**: Your data no go leave your device
- **⚡ Lightning Fast**: No internet lag, instant response
- **🪦 Lightweight**: 1B-10B parameters vs 100B+ wey big guys get

**Popular SLMs**: Qwen 3, Phi-4, Gemma 3 (we dey use Qwen for dis workshop)

## Your Toolkit

### Ollama: Your AI Model Manager

[Ollama](https://ollama.com/) na like Steam for AI models. You go download, run, and manage models with simple commands.

**Wetin make am cool:**
- One command to download plus run any model
- E dey work for Mac, Windows, Linux
- E automatically dey use your GPU if you get am
- Super memory-efficient

### Microsoft Agent Framework: Where the Magic Happens

[Microsoft Agent Framework](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework) na your playground for building AI agents wey fit:

- 💬 Chat and remember wetin una talk
- 🛠️ Use custom tools (like searching the web or to check weather)
- 🧠 Think through complex problems step-by-step
- 🤝 Work with other agents as team
- 🔌 Connect to different AI providers (OpenAI, Ollama, Azure)

**The Building Blocks:**
- **Agents**: Your AI assistants wey get special jobs
- **Tools**: Special abilities wey you give dem
- **Memory**: So dem no go forget your conversation
- **Reasoning**: Teach dem to think, no be just to respond

## Your Training Montage: 4 Missions

### Mission 1: Create Your First Agent

📓 [Open Notebook](../code/01.BasicAgent/00.BasicAgent-agent.ipynb)

**The Quest**: Build Alex, your podcast scriptwriter AI. Alex go need to generate dialogue between two hosts wey dey discuss tech topics.

**Wetin You Go Learn**:
- How to wake up AI agent (e easy pass to wake on Monday)
- Give am personality and instructions
- Make am generate real podcast scripts
- Understand wetin e dey yan back to you

**Victory Condition**: Alex go create script for your "Future Bytes" pilot episode about AI! 🎯

### Mission 2: Give Alex Superpowers (Tools!)

📓 [Open Notebook](../code/01.BasicAgent/01.BasicAgent-tools.ipynb)

**The Quest**: Alex smart, but e no sabi today weather or wetin time be. Make we fix am by giving am tools!

**Wetin You Go Learn**:
- Create custom Python functions as "tools"
- Make Alex decide *when* to use which tool
- Watch am solve problems on him own
- Combine plenty tools to solve tough tasks

**Victory Condition**: Ask "Wet weather dey Tokyo?" and Alex go find am alone! ☁️

### Mission 3: Teach Alex to Think

📓 [Open Notebook](../code/01.BasicAgent/02.BasicAgent-reasoning.ipynb)

**The Quest**: Make Alex show how e dey work. When e dey solve problems, you go fit see *how* e think, no be only the answer.

**Wetin You Go Learn**:
- Activate "reasoning mode" (na like showing your work for math class)
- See Alex step-by-step thought process
- Understand chain-of-thought prompting
- Debug when Alex lost brain

**Victory Condition**: Ask tricky math question and watch Alex reason am well! 🧠

### Mission 4: Connect Alex to the Internet

📓 [Open Notebook](../code/01.BasicAgent/03.BasicAgent-websearch.ipynb)

**The Quest**: Alex knowledge get cutoff date. Make we connect am to web for real-time info!

**Wetin You Go Learn**:
- Build custom web search tool
- Integrate external APIs
- Handle network wahala gently
- Get info wey pass Alex training data

**Victory Condition**: Ask about today tech news and get fresh results! 📰

## Before You Start 🚀

**Required Gear**:
- Python 3.10+ installed
- Ollama dey run (check with `ollama --version`)
- VS Code with Python extension
- At least 8GB RAM (16GB if you want smooth vibes)

## Mission Order

Follow notebooks for order for full story:

1. [00.BasicAgent-agent.ipynb](../code/01.BasicAgent/00.BasicAgent-agent.ipynb) — Meet Alex (your first agent)
2. [01.BasicAgent-tools.ipynb](../code/01.BasicAgent/01.BasicAgent-tools.ipynb) — Power-up time!
3. [02.BasicAgent-reasoning.ipynb](../code/01.BasicAgent/02.BasicAgent-reasoning.ipynb) — Teach Alex to think
4. [03.BasicAgent-websearch.ipynb](../code/01.BasicAgent/03.BasicAgent-websearch.ipynb) — Internet access unlocked!

## Wetin You Go Master

After Act 1, you go fit:

- ✅ Run AI models for your own hardware (no cloud needed!)
- ✅ Build agents wey get custom personalities and skills
- ✅ Give agents tools to solve real-world problem
- ✅ Make agents show how dem reason
- ✅ Connect agents to external data sources
- ✅ Debug when things waka anyhow

## When Things Break (And How to Fix Them) 🔧

### "Alex no dey load! Memory don finish!"
**The Fix**: Your computer dey struggle. Try close other apps, or use smaller model. 8GB RAM na bare minimum.

### "Alex slow no be small"
**The Fix**: Enable GPU acceleration for Ollama settings. Or reduce context window size. Speed demon mode activated! 🏎️

### "Tools no dey work!"
**The Fix**: Double-check your function signatures. Alex need correct type hints to understand wetin tool dey do. E be like give clear instructions.

## Helpful Links 🔗

- [Agent Framework Docs](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework) — Official guides and examples
- [Ollama Model Library](https://ollama.com/library) — Browse all available models
- [Qwen Model](https://ollama.com/library/qwen3) — Meet your AI brain
- [Code Examples](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework/tree/main/python/samples) — Steal ideas from here

## Next Up: Act 2 🎬

You get one agent. But if you get *team* of agents wey dey work together? For Act 2, you go build your full podcast production crew:
- **Researcher Agent**: Finds best sources
- **Writer Agent**: Crafts perfect script  
- **Editor (You!)**: Approves or request changes

Make we run some AI magic! → [Act 2: Assemble Your Production Team](02.AIAgentOrchestrationAndWorkflows.md)

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**Stuck?** Ask question during workshop. We all dey learn together! 🙌

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