Welcome to Module 3: Choose the Tool Before You Use It
Work through the explanation, apply it to the example, and complete the quick check before continuing.
One task, three possible methods
Imagine that you have notes from a team meeting. You need to prepare a short summary with decisions and action items.
You could do the work in three ways:
- Read the notes and write the summary yourself.
- Use a normal document tool and a fixed template.
- Ask an AI assistant to draft the summary, then check it against the notes.
All three methods can be sensible. The right choice depends on the task, the information, the cost of mistakes, and the review available.
If the notes contain private staff matters, you may not be allowed to put them into an outside AI service. If every action item must exactly match the meeting record, a human must compare the draft with the original. If the notes already follow a fixed format, a template may be faster and more reliable than AI.
The first question is therefore not:
Which AI tool should I use?
The first question is:
What does this task require, and which method can meet that requirement safely?
What you will learn
In this module, you will learn to:
- Name the real task pattern.
- Decide what evidence the result needs.
- Consider the harm caused by an error.
- Choose current sources, calculators, fixed software, specialists, or AI for the right job.
- Classify information before entering it into a tool.
- Choose between one response, a controlled multi-step process, and human-led work.
- Explain and defend your choice.
Our main rule
Keep this rule in mind:
Start with the task and its risk, not with the popularity of the tool.
At the end of the module, you will make tool choices for several realistic situations. You will also state what must be checked, who has authority, and when the process must stop.
Let us begin by naming what a task actually asks us to do.