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Julien Barbier 🙃❤️🏴‍☠️

@jbarbier • 77,445 subscribers

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After 3 incredible years and 1.6M students later, my journey at ALX Africa has come to an end. It has been a life-changing experience, during which I made a lot of friends, worked with an incredibly dedicated team, and met so many talented students. A few numbers. We scaled from a few thousand students to 1.6M students on our platform. Students loved it and many of them took more than one course: 4M total! For the famous #ALX_SE Software engineering program, our SE students made an average of 2,000 commits and our checker reviewed 180M of their projects. That’s 2B lines of code… and that was before Claude Code. They actually wrote these themselves (unless Kimba said otherwise :) A big thank you to all my SE team mates, I am so proud of what we have accomplished, and I will really miss you all. Thank you to Fred for the trust he put in me and always supporting my crazy new and disruptive ideas. Thank you to my students. It was an honor to work with you, watch you struggle but relentlessly move forward, no matter what, until you got this job. To those who are still struggling finding this job, keep pushing forward. Don’t let go. You got this. You all have worked so hard and I am so proud of you. You are the greatest thing I've ever been part of and I can't wait to see what impact you will have on the world. It’s your turn to shine now, and hopefully for some of you to give back to the community whenever you are in a position to. I hope you’ll keep sharing the good news with me when you get this internship, this job, or when you launch your company. These messages are everything to me. In any case, I’ll be watching you from afar, and you can count on me to continue answering all your LinkedIn and X messages. Can’t conclude without ALX Africa’s signature: continue to “Do Hard Things”. Remember who you are, where you are coming from, and where you set out to go. I’ll see you there soon. With love. J PS: Want to know what's next for me? Drop your email here:

After 3 incredible years and 1.6M students later, my journey at ALX Africa has come to an end. It has been a life-changing experience, during which I made a lot of friends, worked with an incredibly dedicated team, and met so many talented students. A few numbers. We scaled from a few thousand students to 1.6M students on our platform. Students loved it and many of them took more than one course: 4M total! For the famous #ALX_SE Software engineering program, our SE students made an average of 2,000 commits and our checker reviewed 180M of their projects. That’s 2B lines of code… and that was before Claude Code. They actually wrote these themselves (unless Kimba said otherwise :) A big thank you to all my SE team mates, I am so proud of what we have accomplished, and I will really miss you all. Thank you to Fred for the trust he put in me and always supporting my crazy new and disruptive ideas. Thank you to my students. It was an honor to work with you, watch you struggle but relentlessly move forward, no matter what, until you got this job. To those who are still struggling finding this job, keep pushing forward. Don’t let go. You got this. You all have worked so hard and I am so proud of you. You are the greatest thing I've ever been part of and I can't wait to see what impact you will have on the world. It’s your turn to shine now, and hopefully for some of you to give back to the community whenever you are in a position to. I hope you’ll keep sharing the good news with me when you get this internship, this job, or when you launch your company. These messages are everything to me. In any case, I’ll be watching you from afar, and you can count on me to continue answering all your LinkedIn and X messages. Can’t conclude without ALX Africa’s signature: continue to “Do Hard Things”. Remember who you are, where you are coming from, and where you set out to go. I’ll see you there soon. With love. J PS: Want to know what's next for me? Drop your email here:

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How’s your peer contributing in your team project? 🤣

How’s your peer contributing in your team project? 🤣

24,317 views

Many of us in Silicon Valley, especially those active on platforms like X/Twitter, might think that everyone knows about ChatGPT and has used it at least once. But, this is not true. In my travels and online discussions, I've seen that most people still don't know about things like ChatGPT. There's a real need to close this gap in knowledge. My own kids, who are 6 and 9 years old, are using AI with me all the time. They are having a lot of fun, and learning a lot from it. At the same time, many people around the world don't even know it exists or what it can do. This is not just surprising; it shows we need to do something. To help with this, my colleague Kalkidan Betre and I started an Applied AI course at ALX Africa. The first project in this course is about making deep fakes and video refacing. The video you see here has been made by one of our student James. This project is more than just for learning; it opens the door to seeing how easy and accessible AI is. You don't have to be great at math or know anything about programming to get into AI. It's really as easy as clicking a mouse, showing how simple it is to make deep fakes today. This project also deals with important ethical questions. Some people who haven't tried the project were surprised we started with something so controversial. But that's exactly why it works well. The project highlights being responsible and ethical, which helps students understand the big impact and responsibility of using AI. It's a good way to start a deeper conversation about AI, a conversation that's needed for people to think critically and be aware, especially when digital media and fake news are everywhere. Using AI tools hands-on is key. Without this, you can't understand how powerful and accessible these AI tools are. Students who have done the first project are now starting to get it. They're learning to think more about and question the media they see online. Growing this kind of thinking and awareness is crucial. To really get how powerful and fast-changing AI is, you have to use it yourself. It's a strong, amazing tool that keeps evolving. I hope to quickly grow our program, as I feel we have a big responsibility in this new industrial revolution. It's important that everyone understands AI, its potential for good, and all the questions it creates for us. If we don't share this knowledge widely, the gap between those who have and those who don't will get much bigger. AI is starting a new revolution, and it's very important that we include everyone.

Many of us in Silicon Valley, especially those active on platforms like X/Twitter, might think that everyone knows about ChatGPT and has used it at least once. But, this is not true. In my travels and online discussions, I've seen that most people still don't know about things like ChatGPT. There's a real need to close this gap in knowledge. My own kids, who are 6 and 9 years old, are using AI with me all the time. They are having a lot of fun, and learning a lot from it. At the same time, many people around the world don't even know it exists or what it can do. This is not just surprising; it shows we need to do something. To help with this, my colleague Kalkidan Betre and I started an Applied AI course at ALX Africa. The first project in this course is about making deep fakes and video refacing. The video you see here has been made by one of our student James. This project is more than just for learning; it opens the door to seeing how easy and accessible AI is. You don't have to be great at math or know anything about programming to get into AI. It's really as easy as clicking a mouse, showing how simple it is to make deep fakes today. This project also deals with important ethical questions. Some people who haven't tried the project were surprised we started with something so controversial. But that's exactly why it works well. The project highlights being responsible and ethical, which helps students understand the big impact and responsibility of using AI. It's a good way to start a deeper conversation about AI, a conversation that's needed for people to think critically and be aware, especially when digital media and fake news are everywhere. Using AI tools hands-on is key. Without this, you can't understand how powerful and accessible these AI tools are. Students who have done the first project are now starting to get it. They're learning to think more about and question the media they see online. Growing this kind of thinking and awareness is crucial. To really get how powerful and fast-changing AI is, you have to use it yourself. It's a strong, amazing tool that keeps evolving. I hope to quickly grow our program, as I feel we have a big responsibility in this new industrial revolution. It's important that everyone understands AI, its potential for good, and all the questions it creates for us. If we don't share this knowledge widely, the gap between those who have and those who don't will get much bigger. AI is starting a new revolution, and it's very important that we include everyone.

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🤗 Excited to launch the new ALX Applied AI Program #ALX_AI - A Pioneering Initiative for ALX Graduates! 🌟🚀🤖 In today's rapidly evolving world, where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the very fabric of society, staying ahead in the technology curve is not just an advantage, it's a necessity. Embracing this transformative era, we are excited to unveil the ALX Applied AI Program #ALX_AI, a unique and visionary initiative meticulously designed by Kalkidan Betre and I. This program emerges from a profound understanding that AI is the future – a future where the statement "AI will not take your job, but someone who uses AI will" becomes an undeniable reality. We aim to equip a new generation of professionals, not just with a superficial grasp of AI, but with a deep, practical understanding that enables them to drive innovation across various sectors, from healthcare to finance. The essence of the Applied AI Program #ALX_AI lies in its approach: to make AI accessible and understandable to everyone, irrespective of their coding background. It's more than just a course; it's a comprehensive journey through AI, offering weekly hands-on projects on practical AI tools, supplemented by a wealth of written tutorials and video guides. This program is tailored to illuminate the myriad aspects of AI, ensuring each student grasps its concepts fully and can apply them in real-world scenarios. Again: no coding background is required! Our first project, "Creating a Deepfake Video - The Trailer," is not only an engaging introduction to AI's capabilities but also a critical lesson in the ethical application of these technologies. We emphasize the responsible use of AI, instilling in our students the importance of consent, integrity, and purposeful creation. In recognition of the dedication and achievements of our ALX Africa graduates (#ALX_SE and all others), we are initially launching this program exclusively for them, and at no charge. This beta phase is an opportunity for ALX alumni to pioneer in this innovative realm, setting the stage for future expansions to include a wider audience. So today, we invite our ALX graduates to be part of this groundbreaking initiative: your journey into the world of AI starts here, a journey where you don't just learn about AI but become an integral part of the AI revolution. It's an opportunity to harness AI as a tool for innovation, creativity, and problem-solving – skills that are essential in the job market of today and tomorrow. If you're an alumnus of any ALX program, watch your inbox for an invitation. We're sending these invites to the email you used during your ALX program. (Haven't seen it yet? Please check your spam folder.) Or directly go to , click "Get Started" and check your inbox (and spam box). For those who have not had the privilege of being part of ALX but are eager to dive into the world of AI, we haven't forgotten you. Join the waitlist here: and be the first to know when we open our doors to a wider audience. Embrace AI, Embrace the Future! Enjoy! 🌐 Stay Connected, Stay Updated: Follow Kalkidan Betre and I for more insights and project previews.

Julien Barbier 🙃❤️🏴‍☠️

46,422 views • 2 years ago

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