Artificial intelligence has been in the headlines for a couple of years now, but for many of us it can still feel like a mystery. A new free workshop in Point Arena aims to change that. “GenAI 101 with Claude” is a ninety-minute, hands-on class coming to the Arena Technology Center on Tuesday, July 28, from 5:30 to 7:00 in the evening. It is free, open to everyone, and built for beginners and curious folks rather than experts. By the time you leave, you will have gone from wondering what this technology is to actually using it for something useful in your own life.

The class is taught by Scott Behrens, a Point Arena area resident who works as a Principal Engineer at Netflix and focuses on helping people get real, practical value out of generative AI. The workshop covers four down to earth skills: how to talk to an AI tool so it gives you something useful, how to set up a workspace that remembers your context, how to connect the tool to your email and calendar so it can help manage your day, and how to stay safe and private while you do it. That last part matters to Behrens, who devotes a portion of the class to privacy settings, safe habits, and honest answers to the questions people are often too shy to ask. Everything is done on the free version of the tools, so there is nothing to buy, before or after.

The Arena Technology Center is a fitting home for the class. A subsidiary of the Point Arena schools, it has long offered free internet, classes, and creative tools to youth and adults, and it sits on the high school campus in the white and blue building between the gym and Pacific Community Charter. Space is limited and the small class size is intentional, so the room stays relaxed and conversational. Whether you are AI curious, AI skeptical, or somewhere in between, the invitation is the same. Come as you are, bring your questions, and reserve a spot at forms.gle/MyCsaoi31PBEckmXA.