Context helps only when it is useful and safe to share. Write a clear Markdown context file, add rules for your AI and keep sensitive details out.
Video · 2:29Activity time is additionalStudent course
Your next moves
Make the lesson yours.
Before watching, write your first answer: What does your AI need to know, and what should it never know?
Watch the story. Pause when a choice or claim needs checking.
Open the Think First activity below and complete it before any AI use.
Revise your answer in your own words. Explain what you changed and why.
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
What does your AI need to know, and what should it never know?
My first answer: ________________________________________________
Mike's Mix-Up: The Two-Page Overshare
Made-Up Example.
Look back at Mike's first context file. He included:
1. His full name, school, and home address
2. His phone number
3. His exact work schedule
4. His math grade
5. His best friend's name and chemistry grade
6. His password hint
What went wrong? Talk it through with a partner, then write your answers.
• Which lines fail the Needed test?
• Which line fails the Mine test, and why does it matter even if Mike trusts the AI?
• Which lines could help a stranger find Mike or get into his accounts?
• Which one or two lines would actually help an AI tutor him in Algebra 2?
Mike's fix took ten minutes. He deleted every line that failed a test. He changed "My math grade is a C" to "I understand graphing but lose points on word problems." His new file was half a page, and it helped more than the two-page version ever did.
Think First: My Context File by Hand
No devices. Pen and paper. About 20 minutes.
1. Write # My Context at the top of a page.
2. Copy in the sections you built in earlier chapters, or rebuild them now: About Me, My Core Values, How I Think First, What I Believe About AI So Far, How to Give Me Context, My News Rules, Verify Rules for My AI, Mistakes to Watch For, Never Paste, Privacy Rules for My AI, and My Week.
3. Add a new section, ## Rules for My AI, with at least four rules in your own words.
4. Run the three questions (Needed? Mine? Safe?) on every line. Cross out any line that fails.
5. Circle the one rule that protects your learning the most.
Pause & reflect
What changed in your thinking?
Write one sentence in your notebook. Name what you checked, what you chose, or what you want to explore next.
Read the video transcript
Read along, pause, or return to an idea. This transcript follows the selected lesson video.
Hi, I'm Carla, an AI avatar.
Every time you open a new chat, the AI starts without
knowing you.
This week, you'll fix that.
But first, a question with two halves.
What does your AI need to know, and what should it never know?
Mike got tired of repeating himself,
so he wrote a context file.
Two pages.
His full name, his school, his address,
his phone number, his work schedule,
his friend's failing grade, and his password hint.
Which lines does your AI need to help you with Algebra 2?
I guess it doesn't need my address to explain slope.
Mike had the right idea and the wrong content.
A context file is a short document that tells your AI who
you are as a learner, how you want help,
and what it must never do.
You write it once, keep it current,
and use it every time you start work.
You'll write it in Markdown.
John Gruber introduced Markdown in 2004 as a simple,
readable way to format plain text.
A pound sign makes a heading.
A dash makes a bullet.
Two asterisks make bold.
That's most of it.
You can learn it in five minutes.
Your file pulls together every section you've built since
Chapter 1, from About Me all the way to My Week.
Then you add something new: Rules for My AI.
Quiz me before you explain.
Never write my assignments.
Ask before you assume.
Say when you're unsure.
Why rules?
In a 2025 study of about a thousand high school math
students, students using a standard chatbot scored higher
on practice problems than students with no AI.
But when the AI was taken away, those students did
seventeen percent worse than students who never had it.
A version with safeguards largely prevented that harm.
Now the privacy line.
Every line in your file must pass three questions.
Needed: does the AI need it to help me learn?
Mine: is it about me?
Safe: would I be okay if a stranger at the company read it?
One more thing.
Other people's information belongs to them.
Mike's friend never agreed to have his grade in anybody's file.
Ask before you share anything about another person,
and if you can't ask, leave it out.
Your file describes how you learn,
never how to find you.
This week, you'll draft yours by hand,
then let your AI interview you, and you'll approve every line.
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.
