Using AI Well
Safe, ethical, and responsible AI for Policy & Ops
- Presenter
- Jo Flores
- Session
- 2 of 2
Where we left off
- 1
A helper from another world. You are the expert.
- 2
It drafts. You decide.
- 3
A person reviews it before it leaves CPC.
- 4
Green: go. Yellow: check at the source.
- 5
Red: keep Community Member information out.
Over to you
What have you tried since last time?
A summary · A rewrite · A translation · Nothing yet
Two cases
| The one-pager | The fellow’s story | |
|---|---|---|
| Skip this | “Give me statistics on SNAP use among seniors in Manhattan.” The number goes straight into a legislator one-pager. | “Write a moving testimony about a grandmother who lost her SNAP benefits.” |
| Try this | Find the figure at its source first. Then ask AI to tighten the sentence around it. | The fellow writes it. AI suggests where to cut to fit two minutes. The fellow decides. |
Check every fact at the source. Polish the story, never write it.
Group A
Draw a tree.
Group B
Draw a lemon tree.
Same room. Same thirty seconds.
Group A: “draw a tree”
Three different trees. You each reached for your own.
Group B: “draw a lemon tree”
Three of the same tree.
The difference between these two columns is two words.
Exactly as written
- Every step followed to the letter, nothing more
- A chatbot guesses at the gaps instead (remember the trees)
Ask the room
What did the instructions leave out?
Josh Darnit on YouTube: youtube.com/shorts/CM9JIVG6SQk
Asking well: four parts
- 1
Who it is for
“This is for a one-page explainer for parents who read English as a second language.”
- 2
What you want
“Explain what a $100 SNAP minimum benefit would mean for a family, in three short paragraphs.”
- 3
The limits
“Under 150 words. Warm but not chatty. No jargon. Do not invent numbers or dates; leave them blank.”
- 4
An example
Paste something that already sounds right: “match this.”
Translation: what we are learning
Spanish
- Staff use generative AI for drafts
- Some find it more natural than Google Translate
Chinese
- Translators prefer to start from scratch
- [workflows from trilingual colleagues]
Every language: a person who reads it checks it before it goes out.
Your turn: fifteen minutes
Use the AI tool you prefer. Use all four parts.
- Summarize a long email thread into what needs doing
- Summarize a memo or report for a colleague
- Translate an internal email into a language you read
- Translate a short explainer, then check it line by line
Green light only. Keep Community Member information out. No tool is endorsed.
Over to you
What would adequate review look like for what you just made?
A second reader · A source check · A fluent reader · A named approver
If you supervise
Encourage
- Try a green task together
- Make it safe to say you used it
- Share what worked
Listen for
- Worry about being replaced
- Not knowing what is allowed
- Use that has gone out of sight
Not sure? Ask [name].
Your one-page guide to using AI well
-
Review before it leaves CPC
A person reviews it and answers for it.
-
Protect Community Members
Keep their information out.
-
Check every fact
At the source, not by asking it again.
-
No tool is endorsed
Same lights in any tool. Questions? Ask [name]
Six things to take with you
- 1
It drafts. You decide. A person reviews it.
- 2
Keep Community Member information out.
- 3
Keep it human. You are the conversation.
- 4
Keep thinking. Judgment is the job.
- 5
Check every fact at the source.
- 6
Used AI? Say so.
Questions
And anything you did not want to ask in front of the room
- Follow up with
- hi@joflores.com
- Further reading
- humanetech.com