Editing Ethical Prompting & Judgment (section)

== What this looks like at each level ==

=== Basic — Building the verification instinct ===

You're learning to not accept AI output at face value. The core skill is simple: before using AI output for anything that matters, check it. You're developing the habit of asking "how do I know this is accurate?" after every AI interaction.

'''What it feels like:''' You catch your first AI hallucination. You ask the AI to fact-check itself and discover it readily admits to uncertainty when prompted. You build a 3-question verification prompt you start using regularly.

=== Intermediate — Systematic verification ===

You've moved from "I should check this" to "I have a checklist for checking this." You've built a verification process tuned to your work — covering factual accuracy, reasoning quality, completeness, and domain-specific concerns. You can evaluate AI output on unfamiliar topics using your process, not just your domain knowledge.

'''What it feels like:''' You have a saved verification checklist you actually reach for. You notice when AI reasoning has hidden assumptions. You can explain to a colleague ''why'' you trust one AI output and not another.

=== Advanced — Governance and accountability ===

You're designing systems for teams, not just yourself. You can map AI risk levels across a workflow, create tiered verification processes for different stakes, and write practical guidelines that people actually follow. You think about transparency, attribution, and escalation — not as compliance requirements but as trust infrastructure.

'''What it feels like:''' You've written an AI usage guideline that your team references. You've red-teamed your own framework and found the edge cases. You can explain AI-assisted decisions to stakeholders who didn't see the process.