Skip to content
You Need To Understand This

Direct an AI, then check its work

Working With AI

Almost everyone can get an answer out of an AI tool. Far fewer can tell when that answer is worth anything. This module builds the working half of the skill: a mental model that predicts why these tools behave strangely, the habit of specifying a task before asking for it, how to fix a prompt instead of rerolling it, how to catch the confident mistakes, the ten ways to use the thing beyond asking questions, and the two lines you do not cross — what you paste, and what you let it decide.

6 lessons1 labs1 hr 56 min

Easier if you have done: Find the Answer, Think Clearly

Lessons

  1. 01

    What AI is actually doing

    Build a working model of how a chatbot produces text, so its strangest behaviour stops being surprising.

    You keep: Can predict when an AI answer is likely to be wrong, before reading it.

    16 min
  2. 02

    Frame the task before you prompt

    Design how an AI should approach your problem before you ask it to solve the problem.

    You keep: Can turn a vague request into a specified task, and make the AI surface its missing information before it answers.

    20 min
  3. 03

    Prompting that actually works

    Learn the five levels of prompting and, more importantly, what to change when the output is wrong.

    You keep: Can diagnose why an AI output missed and fix the prompt on the next attempt instead of rerolling.

    22 min
  4. 04

    Catching it when it's wrong

    Decide which AI outputs need checking, check them efficiently, and recover cleanly when a wrong answer has already gone out.

    You keep: Can sort AI output into what needs verifying and what doesn't, and verify the risky parts fast.

    20 min
  5. 05

    The modes of working with AI

    Ten distinct ways to use an AI tool, including the two that most people never try.

    You keep: Can pick the right working mode for a task instead of asking every question the same way.

    20 min
  6. 06

    What not to give away

    Know what should never go into an AI tool, and which parts of your work you must never outsource to one.

    You keep: Can decide, before pasting, whether this content and this judgement are yours to hand over.

    18 min

Labs in this module

All labs