Everyday AI · Module 2

Set boundaries and handle missing information

Suggested time: 6 minutes.

A constraint is a limit the response should respect. Good constraints protect the meaning or make the result usable.

For our workshop update, useful constraints are:

• Use only the supplied notes for facts.
• Keep pending approvals and unconfirmed details visible.
• Do not add owners, dates, reasons or promises.
• If a requested fact is absent, say that it is not provided.

“Be accurate” expresses a goal, but it does not tell the assistant what to do when a fact is missing. An explicit missing-information rule supplies that next step.

Missing does not mean negative

W3 says the notes give no session date. It supports “Date not provided.” It does not prove that nobody has ever agreed a date elsewhere. Be precise about what the source does and does not establish.

Compare these outputs:

Unsupported: “The practice session is on Friday.”

Too strong: “No date has been agreed.”

Supported: “A practice session is proposed; the date is not provided in these notes.”

The second statement might be true, but W3 does not establish it. This distinction prevents a gap in your input becoming an invented fact about the world.

Choose what happens at a gap

There are two useful responses to missing information:

1. Mark it and continue when a useful draft can still be produced. Example: “For the practice-session date, write ‘not provided’ if the notes contain no date.”
2. Ask before drafting when the missing detail is necessary to choose the task or produce the required result. Example: “If I have not named the audience, ask me who the update is for before writing it.”

In this module, the audience is supplied and a missing session date can be marked. Asking for a date before every draft would add a step without solving the exercise.

Avoid instructions that fight each other

“Include all caveats” and “use only three words” may be impossible to satisfy together. If your length target forces the loss of important meaning, allow more room or narrow the task.

Similarly, “make everything sound confirmed” conflicts with preserving pending facts. You can ask for calm, concise language while still keeping uncertainty visible.

Quick pause: Write a safer replacement for “Fill in any missing details so the update looks complete.” Check your wording against the solution later.