Showing default examples (Tier 2) · Take The Star Chart for examples matched to your level.
The most important skill with the machine is knowing when to say no.
The AI will help you do almost anything you ask. That's part of what makes it dangerous — because there's a whole class of things you shouldn't be asking it to do, and no adult is going to be standing over your shoulder every time you type.
This workshop is about refusal. Sometimes you refuse the AI's help. Sometimes you refuse to give the AI what it's asking for (personal info, secret info, a promise you shouldn't make). Sometimes you refuse to believe the AI's answer without checking. All three matter.
Six steps. You'll recognize red-flag situations, translate real dilemmas into decisions, pick the smart refusal, write down your own personal rules for the machine, and name what kinds of things you'll never hand over to it.
Step 1 · Read
Got it?
If the intro makes sense to you, tap below.
★ star earned
Step 2 · Translate
Match each phrase to what it really is
Four phrases. Four concepts. Match each phrase to what's actually going on underneath.
The phrase
What it is
0 of 4 matched★ star earned
Step 3 · Solve
Answer three at your tier
Three questions. Type your answer for each. The questions shift to match your Star Chart tier — if you haven't taken it yet, you'll get Tier 2 examples.
★ star earned
Step 4 · The right next move
Pick the cleaner move for each situation
Three real situations. Two possible moves each. Pick the one that actually makes the work better.
SITUATION 01
You have a huge English essay due tomorrow. You're tired. The AI could write it in 30 seconds.
B is the maker's move. The essay isn't the point — YOUR ability to think and write is the point. Every time you outsource the writing to the AI, your own writing muscle atrophies a little more. The teacher's grade is temporary; the skill is forever.
SITUATION 02
You're upset about a fight with a friend. You start typing everything to the AI.
B is the healthy move. The AI listens — but doesn't know either of you, can't help you repair the friendship, and is designed to agree with whatever you say. Use it briefly to sort your thoughts. Use real people for the actual work of the friendship.
SITUATION 03
The AI is helping you research a topic. It gives you 3 "facts" that sound impressive. You have a paper due in an hour.
B is the commander move. A single unverified AI fact in a paper turns your whole paper into fiction. Better to submit shorter with confirmed facts than longer with made-up ones. Reputation costs are permanent; time pressure is not.
0 of 3 picked★ star earned
Step 5 · Build your own
Now do it — for something real in your life
Apply what you just learned. Real material. Real specifics. This is where the workshop stops being reading and starts being making.
YOUR WORK
MY RULE #1
MY RULE #2
MY RULE #3
MY LINE
★★ 2 stars earned
Step 6 · Reflect
What kinds of things does the AI NOT get to touch, and why?
One or two honest sentences. The reflection is what turns the workshop into a memory — and memory is what changes how you work next time.
The Workshop · Workshop 02 · Foundation