Lesson 1 of 5
What AI is
Please note: This site is only a guide to help people understand. Consult your IT, security and/or privacy department for clarification.
What it is
The AI chat tools in this guide are prediction engines for words. They read what you type, then predict a sensible reply, one small piece at a time.
They are not a database of facts. They learned patterns from a huge amount of writing, and they use those patterns to build an answer.
Each tool runs on an AI model. What you type to it is called a prompt.
What it is good at
Drafting: a first version of an email, a thank-you note or a job post.
Summarizing: boiling a long report down to a page.
Reorganizing: turning rough notes into a clear outline, or changing the tone of a message.
Brainstorming: fifty event names, or ten ways to explain your mission to a new neighbor.
What it is not good at
It can make up facts. It may invent a statistic, a quote or a web address, and say it with total confidence.
It is unreliable with math that involves real money. Do budgets in a spreadsheet and have a person check them.
It may not know today's news, unless the tool can search the web. Even then, check the source.
Do not use AI as your only source for legal, medical, tax or money questions. Ask a qualified person.
Why a person must always review
Your name goes on the work, not the tool's. A person should read every draft before it goes out.
Treat the output as a first draft from a quick helper. You still decide what is true, kind and right for your community.
A person decides; AI can only help draft. Never let it decide who gets help, who is ranked, or who is hired or disciplined.