Foundations
Create an AI Operating System
Build the plain-file system of folders, scripts, and workflows that runs the work a whole team used to handle.
The SectionZero.AI Total Membership
Learn AI From A Guy Who Replaced His Whole Team With It
Inside the membership: the full system I use to run my business, all my AI courses, every future course I release, and a direct line to me when you get stuck.
Try it for 30 days. If it isn't for you, email me and I'll refund you in full.
A Typical Workday For Me, On The System You're About To Learn
I sit down with coffee. I open my laptop. I type a few instructions to my system. And throughout the day, the system drafts my next YouTube video, writes first passes on my lessons, keeps my research wikis updated, and hands me drafts I can approve or edit.
- I don't have a video editor anymore.
- I don't have a thumbnail designer anymore.
- I don't have a content team anymore.
- I don't have a VA anymore.
What I have is a system. A set of files, folders, workflows, and wikis that live on my laptop and run the parts of the business a team used to handle. I built it myself. It reads my work, it writes my work, and it executes alongside me, all day.
I'm calling it my "AI Operating System." SectionZero.AI is where I teach you to build yours.
What An AI Operating System Actually Is
The AI Operating System lives on your computer, not in someone else's app. It's built from plain markdown files, folders, scripts, databases, workflows, and skills that you own. No locked platform. No app you have to beg permission from. No fragile prompt library that falls apart the minute the model changes.
The membership teaches the core ideas that make an AI Operating System work, then walks you through the practical upgrades that turn it into something you can actually use every day.
Included with membership
Current course library
New courses are added as I build and release them - and members get every one at no extra cost.
Core concept
Portable Intelligence
Structure your AI knowledge so it's never locked to a single model or tool. You own the system; the model is swappable.
Models
Swapping Brains in AI-OS
Swap different AI models into your operating system: Claude today, OpenAI Codex tomorrow, whatever comes next.
Memory
Adding Memory to AI-OS
Add markdown memory you can read and edit, plus a database-backed memory layer for structured logs and records.
Quality
Humanizing & Fact-Checking AI-OS
Strip out the obvious AI tells that make writing sound fake, and fact-check AI-written work before it ships.
Research
Knowledge Graph AI Wikis
Turn any topic you study into a structured, linkable knowledge base that you and your AI can both navigate.
Workflows
Build Workflows From Wikis
Turn the AI wikis you've built into repeatable workflows your AI Operating System can actually run.
Principles
The 60-30-10 AI Rule
The operating principle behind every workflow: 60% repeatable code, 30% memory, 10% AI. Learn the structure around the model.
Monetize
Creating Digital Products With AI
Build a portfolio of digital products with AI that you can sell online 24/7 on marketplaces like Gumroad.
The outcome
What You'll Be Able To Build
- A local AI Operating System built from files and folders you control.
- A memory layer your AI can read, write, and use across projects.
- A model-swapping workflow so you're not trapped inside one AI tool.
- A fact-checking and humanizing layer for AI-written work.
- Knowledge graph wikis your AI can use as research infrastructure.
- Workflows built from your wikis that your operating system can run.
This Is For You If…
- You want AI to help run real workflows, not just answer random prompts.
- You create content, courses, software, research, or business systems.
- You want files and workflows you own, not another rented AI app.
- You learn best by watching someone build the real thing from scratch.
This Is Not For You If…
- You want magic prompts instead of building a working system.
- You refuse to use tools like Claude, ChatGPT, or whatever model comes next.
- You want a passive course you never actually implement.
Simple pricing
$79 A Month Or $195 Once. Every Course. Forever.
Choose monthly for the lowest upfront cost, or lifetime if you know you're in and want to cap your cost.
Monthly
$79/mo
Lowest upfront cost. Cancel anytime.
- The full AI Operating System build-from-scratch course
- The complete current course library
- Every future course I release
- Access to the community of builders
- A direct line to me when you get stuck
Best Value
Lifetime Access
$195 once
Pay once. Done forever. No subscription.
- Everything in the monthly plan
- The complete current course library
- Every future course I release, forever
- Community access for life
- A direct line to me when you get stuck
Both options include the same access. Try it for 30 days. If it isn't for you, email me and I'll refund you in full - no forms, no hoops.
What This Compares To
A single one-off AI course from most people selling AI training right now typically runs $100 to $200. Buy a few of those and you're still stitching together disconnected ideas instead of building one system you can actually use.
The SectionZero.AI membership is $79 a month, or $195 one time, for the full course library, every new AI course I release, and me to answer any questions you have along the way. The monthly option keeps the upfront cost low and lets you cancel anytime. The lifetime option caps your cost and gets you the same access without another monthly payment.
Why You Should Take My Word For Any Of This
I've been building in tech since the late '90s. Multiple company exits, including an advertising network I sold to a publicly traded company. I run Codemy.com, where I've taught over 20 million people to code, and a YouTube channel with over a quarter of a million subscribers.
When AI arrived, I didn't treat it as a new topic to write about. I rebuilt my entire operation around it. The content team I used to have is now the system I'm teaching. The research, the editing, the thumbnails, the drafts, the course outlines - all running through the AI Operating System.
I'm not an AI personality. I'm a builder who figured out how to actually use this stuff, wrote down how I do it, and opened the door to everyone watching me on YouTube and reading my emails at Codemy.
What students say
Real words from people who learn from me
★★★★★
"Love the way John teaches. Straight to the point, very engaged, gives awesome background and not just 'do this or that.' Helped me get from 0 to a successful project at work in no time."
Tom Fischer
★★★★★
"Great examples, great pace, and just about the time I say to myself, 'I wish he'd explain that element a bit more'... he does."
Monet Harkin
★★★★★
"The way John explained things is just awesome and makes me feel like, hey, I can do that as well. Thanks for such awesome teaching. Looking forward to more courses."
Shahabuddin Nadeem
★★★★★
"Fun, chill teaching style that makes the information very accessible. Great skill at making complicated ideas seem easy."
Sean E. Strough
★★★★★
"Simply awesome. Perfect way of explaining things so I could understand and follow along. Thanks John!"
Michael Ponce
★★★★★
"John has a great pace of demonstration and knows exactly what the course should include for your level. Very straightforward and helpful."
Mark Prosser
★★★★★
"Great teacher - nice pace, you actually build something useful, and the instructor is very responsive to student questions."
Fred Horton
★★★★★
"Had a great time following along and even had a few laugh-out-loud moments. Fun, engaging, and very useful. Would recommend."
Matt Kelly
★★★★★
"Great tutor with an entertaining teaching style. I have learned a lot. Thanks!"
Stephen Lutz
★★★★★
"I've taken several of John's courses. Straightforward teaching style and fun."
Ronald Kitchen
★★★★★
"Incredibly clear explanations and easy to follow and understand."
Karen L. Leonard
★★★★★
"Very nice course with great projects in it. I love John's way of teaching - clear explanations and short videos. I will order more courses from him. He's a great teacher."
Jeremy Wisniewski
★★★★★
"Great course. Easy to follow, whatever a person's level. Thanks John!"
Scott Kushner
★★★★★
"John is a really good teacher with a simple approach - without trying to make things more complicated than they are. Seems like a great guy. Thanks again."
Sam Macfie
★★★★★
"Great course. The instructor's delivery is fun and engaging. All material is well explained."
Gary Steele
★★★★★
"Great course! Great teacher! Look forward to doing more of your courses."
Thomas Gorman
If It's Not For You, I'll Refund You In Full
Try the membership for 30 days. Go through the AI Operating System course. Build something that runs. If within the first 30 days you decide it isn't for you, email me and I'll refund you in full - no questions, no forms, no hoops. You can keep whatever you've already downloaded. The risk is on me, not on you.
Founding-Member Pricing
The first 500 members get founding-member pricing: $79 a month for life or the $195 one-time option. Once we pass 500, the monthly price rises to $99 a month and the one-time option rises to $295 for anyone joining after. The price you join at is the price you stay at, for as long as you're a member.
Most people watch AI happen to them. A few build the system that runs on top of it. If you want to be the second kind - and you want to learn it from someone whose business already runs on that system - lock it in while the window is open.
Join SectionZero.AI Today
Every course. Every future course. A direct line to me. Start building the system that runs on top of AI.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these coding courses?
No. You don't need to write code to use the membership. The AI Operating System runs on plain markdown files and folders. If you can write an email, you can build one.
Do I need a separate Claude or ChatGPT subscription?
Yes. The membership teaches you the system. You bring the AI. That's the Portable Intelligence principle: you pick the model, and the system works with whichever you pick.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. If you choose the monthly option, it's $79 a month, no contract, cancel with one click. You can also choose the $195 one-time lifetime option instead.
How often do new courses drop?
New courses are added as I build and release them. Members get every new course at no additional cost, forever.
What's the community like?
Other builders doing what you're doing - people using AI to run their businesses, side projects, and content operations. It's not a forum. It's a working room.
Do I actually get to talk to you?
Yes. The "direct line to me" is real. Members ask questions inside the community, and I answer. You can also email me with private questions.
About John Elder
John Elder has been coding for over 30 years. He runs Codemy.com, an online coding education platform where he's taught over 20 million students, and a YouTube channel with over a quarter of a million subscribers. He also runs SectionZero.AI, where he teaches AI and agentic workflows.
John lives in Las Vegas with his wife April and dogs Aspen and Ivy. When he's not building AI tools, he's trail running through the mountains outside Vegas.