AI for Questioning Minds — Free Course
01 · The Human Question

01.1 The Question: The Human Question

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Module 01 · Your mission

Who is making
the choices?

Every module is a goal. Follow the path, collect your own evidence, and carry one new habit into your life.

Your goalTell the difference between what a machine can do and what only you can decide.
01.1
The question→01.2
Carla's walkthrough→01.3
Luna's unplugged

Your path through 01.1

0 / 4 checkpoints
  1. 01Think
  2. 02Watch
  3. 03Practice
  4. 04Reflect

Keep your work in a notebook or your own document. Your checkpoint checklist is saved on this device.

01Think first

Start with your own answer before hearing anyone else’s.

When a machine can do your homework, what is still yours to do?

Write two or three sentences. You will return to them at the end.

02Watch the story · 1:52

Meet Mike. Notice the difference between finishing a task and achieving its purpose.

Use fullscreen for a larger view. Playback speed is available in the video settings.

After watching: What choice did Mike give away? Write one sentence.

03Practice · My AI Day

Now try the reasoning yourself. Open the activities below, then complete My AI Day on paper.

Your activity / Right here

Bring a notebook. Begin below.

The activity is included on this page. Work on paper or in your own document; keep your first attempt and the evidence you checked.

Warm-up: Dr. Q's Question

When a machine can do your homework, what is still yours to do?

My first answer: ________________________________________________

Mike's Mix-Up: The Four-Minute Essay

Made-Up Example.

Go back to Mike's Sunday night. Here is what he did:

1. He pasted the assignment into a chatbot and typed "Answer."

2. He accepted the position the AI chose.

3. He did not check the three examples.

4. He changed two sentences so it would sound like him.

5. He turned it in.

What went wrong? Talk it through with a partner, then write your answers.

• Which step handed his purpose to the machine?

• Which step skipped verification?

• What could Mike have done in the first ten minutes, without AI, that would have changed everything?

• If Mike's teacher allowed AI on this assignment, what would a responsible use have looked like?

Think First: My AI Day

No devices. Pen and paper. About 15 minutes.

On paper, list every time in the last 24 hours that you used AI or an AI powered feature. Include chatbots, and also think about autocomplete, video and music recommendations, social media feeds, maps, photo filters, and voice assistants.

For each one, write:

1. What did it do?

2. Did it make a choice for you, or did you make the choice?

3. Would you want that choice back?

Circle the one moment when you think AI shaped your day the most.

04Reflect & carry it forward

Return to your first answer.

What would you change? What will you keep? Explain why in your own words.

Choose one habit to practice today: Think First, Verify, or Stay in Charge.

Your evidence for this mission: your first answer, your AI Day list, and a reflection that names a choice you want to own.

Read the video transcript

Read along, pause, or return to an idea. This transcript follows the selected lesson video.

[00:00:02.250] When a machine can do your homework, [00:00:04.140] what is still yours to do? [00:00:06.180] I'm Carla, an AI avatar. [00:00:08.620] Welcome to AI for Questioning Minds. [00:00:11.240] We start with that question. [00:00:13.460] Hold on to that. [00:00:14.958] Let me show you what happened to Mike. [00:00:17.560] Sunday night, 10:52. [00:00:19.384] A history response is due at midnight. [00:00:21.860] Mike pastes the prompt into a chatbot and types one word: Answer. [00:00:26.300] Four minutes later he has four hundred clean words. [00:00:29.621] Dr. Q: Nice work. [00:00:30.989] Dr. Q: Walk me through it. [00:00:32.520] Dr. Q: Why did you take that position? [00:00:34.966] Mike: Uh... [00:00:37.966] Mike's essay was finished. [00:00:39.748] The point of the assignment was for Mike to take a [00:00:42.060] position and defend it, and that part never happened. [00:00:45.633] The task was finished. [00:00:47.226] The purpose was not. [00:00:49.204] In the fall of 2025, Pew surveyed 1,458 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. [00:00:57.171] Fifty-four percent had used chatbots for help with schoolwork. [00:01:01.280] This course uses two ideas. [00:01:03.460] Bounded execution: a tool doing a specific job inside [00:01:07.040] limits you set, like drafting, sorting, [00:01:09.840] or calculating. [00:01:11.282] And human agency: your ability to understand what's [00:01:14.440] happening, make the choices that matter, [00:01:16.720] say no, and own the results. [00:01:19.493] Geoffrey Hinton won a Nobel Prize for work behind today's AI. [00:01:23.774] On the day it was announced, he said, [00:01:25.400] "We have no experience of what it's like to have things [00:01:28.200] smarter than us." [00:01:29.980] Nobody has practice with that yet. [00:01:32.110] Your generation will be the first to get it. [00:01:34.888] So this course teaches three habits. [00:01:37.520] Think First. [00:01:38.714] Verify. [00:01:39.879] Stay in Charge. [00:01:41.683] This week you'll look at your own AI day and find out who [00:01:44.820] is really making your choices. [00:01:46.819] Grab a pen. [00:01:48.054] We'll start there.
Before you use an AI tool

Follow your course or institution's rules. Use an instructor-approved tool that permits your age, and meet any required consent conditions. Keep names, contact details, school records, and other private information out of prompts. Use fictional examples when you can.

Learning without an AI account

Follow the demonstration, pause before each answer, and do the reasoning on paper. Discuss what you would ask, how you would check it, and which decisions would remain yours.

About the characters and voices

This course uses AI-created characters and synthetic voices. Carla is an AI avatar. They help tell the story; they are not real students sharing testimonials.

Designed for high-school and community-college learners. Choose examples from your classes, work, and everyday life. Keep your completed work in your course portfolio.