Everyday AI · Module 1

Make a task decision before prompting

Suggested time: 5 minutes.

Use these three decisions:

• Proceed: The tool and input are permitted, the task is low-risk and bounded, and you have evidence and a human reviewer.
• Change the input: You can keep the useful task but replace unnecessary or unsuitable material with a safe input before sharing anything.
• Stop and ask: Permission is unclear, the task needs an authorised or specialist decision, or you cannot adequately check a consequential result.

“Change the input” is not permission to share a shortened confidential document. It means preparing an independently safe alternative, such as the fictional material in this course. If you cannot establish that the replacement is permitted, stop and ask.

A task decision path

Illustration: Five checks before using AI: permission, sensitivity and minimum data, consequence of error, evidence, and human review. Any unresolved check leads to changing the task or stopping before data is entered. See the accompanying decision-tree diagram.

Text equivalent of the diagram

1. Do I have permission to use this tool and share this input? If no or unsure, stop and ask before entering it.
2. Does the input avoid unnecessary sensitive or confidential information? If no, replace it with a permitted, minimal or wholly fictional input; then start the checks again. If a safe replacement is not possible, stop.
3. Is the consequence of an error low enough for this exercise? If no, reduce the task to a safe draft or seek the appropriate authorised process.
4. Do I have evidence to check the result? If no, obtain the evidence or narrow the task. Do not present an unsupported factual conclusion as checked.
5. Is a human responsible for review before use? If no, arrange review. If all five checks are satisfied, proceed with the bounded draft.

Apply it to the workshop

The supplied notes are invented and intended for this exercise. They contain no real personal details. The task produces a practice draft, not an event booking. Each bullet can be compared with a note. You are the reviewer. Decision: proceed.

Compare a different request: “Use a private employee complaint to decide who should lose their job.” This involves sensitive material and a consequential decision. Do not enter the complaint or delegate the decision to a general-purpose chat. Stop and follow the appropriate authorised process.

Read the diagram explanation

Check permission, unnecessary sensitive input, consequences of error, available evidence, and human review in that order. An unresolved check requires changing the input or task, or stopping to ask. Proceed with a bounded draft only when all five checks are satisfied.