The AI Basics: What You Need to Know

Getting started with AI is simpler than it seems. In this post, we’ll cover five key basics to help you navigate AI with ease. From learning how to craft effective prompts and fact-checking responses to understanding the importance of using AI as a helpful assistant and protecting your data, these tips will give you the foundation you need to use AI confidently. Let’s get started!

Talk to AI like you’d talk to a friend

When interacting with generative AI models, you use regular language or what we call prompts. A prompt is essentially an instruction or question you give the AI to receive a response. The AI processes your words to understand your request and delivers an answer or helps you complete a task. The clearer and more specific your prompt, the better the response you'll get. Providing extra context can significantly improve the AI’s accuracy. More on prompting here.

Always Fact-Check AI Responses

While AI can be incredibly helpful, it's important to verify everything it generates. Occasionally, AI models produce incorrect or fabricated information, which can be misleading. This happens because many AI systems, like ChatGPT, are trained on vast amounts of internet data, which includes misinformation and biases. As a result, AI-generated responses can sometimes reflect these inaccuracies, so it’s crucial to review outputs for reliability and accuracy.

Use AI as an Assistant, Not a Replacement

AI works best as a tool to assist and collaborate with humans, not as a replacement for human judgment or expertise. It can speed up your tasks and help brainstorm ideas, but it shouldn’t be treated as a definitive source of truth or an expert. There are many things AI can’t do well, and your human expertise, wisdom, values, and experience need to be applied to every output.

Protect your Data

AI Tools are a ‘black box,’ and their internal workings are not transparent or easily understandable, even to those who use or develop them. There is a lot we don’t know, so be careful about sharing anything private or confidential with an AI model.

Check your AI Privacy Settings

Head into your settings and be sure to disable the feature that allows your conversations to be used for model training. However, remember that many AI models still retain conversations for up to 30 days, and data leaks have occurred in the past. Always be cautious with your personal information, and the personal information of others!

You may find my AI Dictionary helpful!