Bring what you know AI guides in plain language

Guides

Foundations

The habits that separate a useful answer from a plausible one. Not what an LLM is. What to do when the output is wrong.

In order: start at one

  1. Your first useful hour with AI

    Three small tasks to try before you decide whether any of this is worth your time.

    15 min

  2. What you should never paste, and why

    A short, clear line between what's fine to share and what could get you in trouble, plus what to do if you already pasted it.

    7 min

  3. Why your answer was disappointing, and the four fixes

    The output was vague because the input was. The four things missing, in the order they matter.

    8 min

  4. How to check its work

    It writes wrong answers in the same confident tone as right ones. Three ways to tell them apart.

    10 min

  5. Argue me out of it

    You've mostly decided. Find the questions you haven't asked before you commit.

    30 min

  6. Read this before you sign it

    Use AI to understand a lease, a contract, or a policy, and know exactly where it will let you down.

    20 min

  7. The letter you've been putting off

    Disputing a charge, canceling something that resists canceling, saying no to someone you'll see again.

    20 min

  8. Why it forgot what you told it

    Long conversations quietly get worse. The tells, and how to move to a fresh one without losing the work.

    8 min

  9. Stop retyping yourself

    You type the same five facts about your job every day. There are two places to put them instead, and a rule for which goes where.

    9 min