The Valley · Satire
Tech Influencer's '$497 AI Mastery Course' Found to Be Curated List of Free YouTube Videos
The course, which has sold 8,000 copies, also includes a PDF of the influencer's favourite keyboard shortcuts and access to a Discord server with 340 unanswered questions.
LOS ANGELES — A popular technology influencer who has amassed 2.3 million followers across platforms has come under criticism this week after purchasers of his $497 “AI Mastery: From Zero to Prompt” course discovered that its primary content consists of links to publicly available YouTube videos, most of which the influencer did not make.
The course, sold through a third-party platform, promises to teach students “everything you need to know about AI to stay ahead in 2024 and beyond” and includes six modules, each of which consists of four to seven embedded YouTube videos followed by a short quiz.
“I curated these resources carefully,” said the influencer, whose online persona is @TechWithTanner, in a video response to the criticism. “Curation has value. I watched all of these.”
The course also includes a 47-page PDF titled “Tanner’s Ultimate AI Toolkit,” which is a formatted list of tools including ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Notion, with one-sentence descriptions that match those on each tool’s official website.
Access to the Discord server, which is listed as a course benefit, currently features 1,247 unanswered questions, several requests for refunds, and a pinned message from Tanner saying he will “pop in soon.”
Tanner has not popped in since January.
At press time, Tanner had announced a new course.
