1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595# ❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
**Quick Answers to Common Questions About Generative AI**
---
## 📚 Table of Contents
- [Getting Started](#getting-started)
- [Using AI Tools](#using-ai-tools)
- [Costs and Pricing](#costs-and-pricing)
- [Privacy and Security](#privacy-and-security)
- [Capabilities and Limitations](#capabilities-and-limitations)
- [Ethics and Best Practices](#ethics-and-best-practices)
- [Technical Questions](#technical-questions)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
---
## Getting Started
### Q: Do I need programming skills to use AI tools?
**A: No!** Modern AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are designed for everyone. You just type what you want in normal language (English, Spanish, etc.) and the AI responds. Think of it like using Google or sending a text message—no coding required.
---
### Q: Which AI tool should I start with?
**A: ChatGPT** is the most beginner-friendly for several reasons:
- Free tier with generous limits
- Large community (easy to find help)
- Well-documented
- Wide range of capabilities
Once comfortable, try Claude (great for analysis) or Gemini (integrates with Google services).
---
### Q: How long does it take to learn?
**A:**
- **Basic usage:** 15-30 minutes to start using
- **Confident user:** 1-2 weeks of daily practice
- **Proficient user:** 1-2 months of regular use
- **Expert prompt engineer:** 3-6 months of dedicated practice
Good news: You can get value immediately, even as a beginner!
---
### Q: Is there an age requirement?
**A:** Most AI tools require users to be:
- **13+ years old** for basic accounts (with parental consent)
- **18+ years old** for accounts without parental consent
Check specific terms of service for each platform.
---
## Using AI Tools
### Q: How do I write a good prompt?
**A:** Follow the "Context + Request + Constraints" formula:
**Example:**
```
Context: "I'm a teacher creating a lesson plan for 5th graders"
Request: "Write a 10-minute activity about the water cycle"
Constraints: "Make it hands-on and require only common household items"
```
See our [prompt engineering guide](./prompt.md) for more tips!
---
### Q: Why did AI give me a bad response?
**A:** Common reasons:
1. **Prompt too vague:** "Tell me about marketing" → "Write a 200-word guide to social media marketing for small businesses"
2. **Lack of context:** "Write an email" → "Write a professional email to a client apologizing for a delayed shipment"
3. **Unrealistic expectations:** AI isn't perfect—it needs good inputs to give good outputs
**Solution:** Refine your prompt and try again! AI gets better with iteration.
---
### Q: Can I continue a previous conversation?
**A:** Depends on the tool:
- **ChatGPT:** Yes, keeps conversation history (you can also start new chats)
- **Claude:** Yes, maintains conversation context
- **Gemini:** Yes, with conversation history
**Tip:** Start a new conversation when switching to a completely different topic.
---
### Q: How do I make AI stop generating?
**A:**
- **ChatGPT:** Click the "Stop generating" button that appears while generating
- **Claude:** Click "Stop" or close the response
- **Gemini:** Click "Stop generating"
You can then ask AI to continue or revise what it started.
---
### Q: Can I use AI in languages other than English?
**A: Yes!** Major AI tools support 50+ languages including:
- Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese
- Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Korean
- Arabic, Hindi, Russian
- And many more
**Quality varies:** English generally works best because models were trained more on English text, but other major languages work very well too.
---
## Costs and Pricing
### Q: Are AI tools free?
**A:** Most have free tiers:
| Tool | Free Tier | Paid Tier | Cost |
|------|-----------|-----------|------|
| **ChatGPT** | ✅ GPT-3.5 | GPT-4, DALL-E, priority access | $20/month |
| **Claude** | ✅ Limited messages | More messages, priority | $20/month |
| **Gemini** | ✅ Basic model | Advanced model, more features | $20/month |
| **Copilot** | ✅ With limits | More quota | Varies |
**For learning:** Free tiers are more than enough!
---
### Q: Is the paid version worth it?
**A:** Upgrade if you:
- Use AI heavily every day (running into free tier limits)
- Need the latest/most capable models (GPT-4 vs GPT-3.5)
- Require faster response times
- Use for professional work where quality is critical
**Start free first** and upgrade only when you feel limited.
---
### Q: Are there hidden costs?
**A:** No hidden costs for chat-based tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. However:
- Some specialized AI tools (image generation, voice cloning) may charge per use
- API access (for developers) charges by tokens used
- Some features require paid tiers
**Bottom line:** For basic learning and use, free tiers have no hidden costs.
---
## Privacy and Security
### Q: Is my data safe with AI tools?
**A:** Generally yes, but understand:
**What AI companies collect:**
- Your prompts and conversations
- Account information (email, name)
- Usage data (when you use it, how often)
**What they say they do:**
- Use data to improve AI (with opt-out options in some cases)
- Not sell your personal data to third parties
- Store conversations securely
**Always read privacy policies** for specific tools you use.
---
### Q: Can AI "remember" personal information about me?
**A:**
- **Within a conversation:** Yes, AI remembers what you told it earlier
- **Across conversations:** Usually no (each new chat starts fresh)
- **Exception:** Some tools now offer "memory" features you can enable
**Important:** Don't share:
- Passwords
- Credit card numbers
- Social security numbers
- Private health information
- Confidential company information
---
### Q: Who can see my AI conversations?
**A:**
- **Generally:** Only you can see your conversations
- **Company staff:** May review conversations to improve AI or for safety reasons
- **Exceptions:** If you share a conversation link or screenshot
**Best practice:** Treat AI conversations like you would email—somewhat private but not completely confidential.
---
### Q: Can I delete my conversation history?
**A: Yes!** Most platforms allow you to:
- Delete individual conversations
- Clear all history
- Disable conversation saving
**Check settings** in your AI tool account.
---
## Capabilities and Limitations
### Q: What can AI actually do?
**A:** AI excels at:
✅ **Writing and communication**
- Emails, reports, articles, creative writing
- Summarizing long texts
- Translating languages
✅ **Learning and education**
- Explaining complex concepts simply
- Creating study materials
- Answering questions
- Providing step-by-step tutorials
✅ **Creative work**
- Brainstorming ideas
- Generating images (with image AI)
- Writing code
- Creating content variations
✅ **Productivity**
- Planning and scheduling
- Organizing information
- Data analysis assistance
- Task automation ideas
---
### Q: What can't AI do (or do poorly)?
**A:** AI struggles with:
❌ **Real-time information**
- Current news (unless web-enabled)
- Today's weather
- Live stock prices
- Recent events after its training cutoff
❌ **Personal information**
- Facts about you (unless you tell it)
- Your calendar or email
- Your specific situation details
❌ **High-stakes decisions**
- Medical diagnoses
- Legal advice
- Financial investment decisions
- Relationship advice
❌ **100% accuracy**
- Can make mistakes
- Can "hallucinate" (make up facts)
- Math errors possible
❌ **Accessing external systems**
- Can't browse websites (unless specifically enabled)
- Can't send emails for you
- Can't execute code on your computer
---
### Q: Can AI access the internet?
**A:** Depends on the tool:
- **ChatGPT Free:** No web access
- **ChatGPT Plus (with browsing):** Yes, when enabled
- **Copilot:** Yes, includes web search
- **Gemini:** Yes, can search web
- **Perplexity AI:** Yes, designed for web-based answers
**Note:** Even with web access, AI might not give real-time results.
---
### Q: Is AI always right?
**A: No!** AI can:
- Make mistakes in calculations
- "Hallucinate" (confidently state false information)
- Provide outdated information
- Misunderstand your question
**Always verify:**
- Important facts and statistics
- Medical, legal, or financial advice
- Critical business information
- Academic research
**Rule of thumb:** Use AI as a first draft or research starting point, not the final authority.
---
### Q: Can AI see images I upload?
**A:** Depends on the model:
- **GPT-4V (ChatGPT Plus):** Yes, can analyze images
- **Claude (some versions):** Yes, can analyze images
- **Gemini:** Yes, can analyze images
- **GPT-3.5 (ChatGPT Free):** No image analysis
**What it can do with images:**
- Describe what's in the image
- Extract text (OCR)
- Answer questions about the image
- Provide analysis or suggestions
---
## Ethics and Best Practices
### Q: Is using AI "cheating"?
**A:** It depends on context:
**Acceptable use:**
✅ Using AI to brainstorm ideas, then developing them yourself
✅ Using AI to improve your draft writing
✅ Using AI to learn concepts, then applying knowledge yourself
✅ Using AI as a tool (like spell-check or calculator)
**Problematic use:**
❌ Submitting AI work as entirely your own without disclosure
❌ Using AI to complete assignments meant to test your understanding
❌ Using AI to avoid learning fundamental skills
❌ Violating academic integrity policies
**Best practice:**
- Disclose when you've used AI assistance (especially for school/work)
- Use AI to enhance your work, not replace your thinking
- Check your institution's/employer's AI usage policy
---
### Q: Do I need to cite or credit AI?
**A:** Best practices:
**For academic work:**
- **Yes, disclose AI use** (exact format varies by institution)
- Example: "Draft assisted by ChatGPT, edited and verified by author"
- Follow your school's citation guidelines
**For professional work:**
- Disclose to stakeholders if relevant
- Company policies vary—check yours
- Be transparent about process
**For personal use:**
- Generally no need to cite
- But don't claim AI's creative work as entirely original
---
### Q: Can I copyright AI-generated content?
**A:** Complex and evolving area:
**Current general guidance:**
- **Purely AI-generated content:** May not be copyrightable
- **Human-edited AI content:** Likely copyrightable (the human edits)
- **AI as a tool:** If you substantially modify AI output, likely copyrightable
**Best approach:**
- Use AI as a tool to assist your creative process
- Add significant human input and editing
- Consult a lawyer for important commercial work
- Laws are still developing—this area is changing
---
### Q: How can I use AI responsibly?
**A:** Follow these principles:
✅ **Transparency:** Disclose AI use when relevant
✅ **Verification:** Check important facts and claims
✅ **Privacy:** Don't share others' private information with AI
✅ **Fairness:** Be aware of potential biases in AI outputs
✅ **Learning:** Use AI to enhance skills, not avoid developing them
✅ **Respect:** Follow your organization's AI policies
✅ **Critical thinking:** Don't blindly accept AI outputs
---
## Technical Questions
### Q: What's the difference between GPT-3.5 and GPT-4?
**A:**
**GPT-3.5 (Free ChatGPT):**
- Faster responses
- Good for most tasks
- Less sophisticated reasoning
- No image analysis
**GPT-4 (ChatGPT Plus):**
- More advanced reasoning
- Better at complex tasks
- Can analyze images
- More creative
- More accurate
- Slower and costs $20/month
**For learning:** GPT-3.5 is fine! Upgrade to GPT-4 when you need advanced capabilities.
---
### Q: What are "tokens" and why do they matter?
**A:**
- **Token:** A chunk of text (roughly 3/4 of a word)
- **Example:** "Artificial Intelligence" ≈ 3-4 tokens
**Why they matter:**
- AI has token limits (how much it can process at once)
- Free tiers may limit tokens per month
- Affects conversation length and document size
**Rough guide:**
- 100 tokens ≈ 75 words
- 1,000 tokens ≈ 750 words
- ChatGPT-3.5: 4,096 token limit per conversation
- ChatGPT-4: 8,192 or 32,768 token limit (depending on model)
---
### Q: What's "context window"?
**A:** The amount of text AI can "remember" or consider at once.
**Example:**
- Small context: Can only consider the last few messages
- Large context: Can consider an entire conversation or long document
**Practical impact:**
- Larger context = better understanding of long conversations
- Larger context = can work with longer documents
- GPT-4 has a larger context window than GPT-3.5
---
### Q: Can I run AI on my own computer?
**A:**
- **Chat AI (like ChatGPT):** Generally no, too resource-intensive
- **Smaller AI models:** Yes, possible with technical setup
- **Local image AI:** Yes, tools like Stable Diffusion can run locally
**For most users:** Cloud-based tools (ChatGPT, Claude) are easier and more powerful.
---
## Troubleshooting
### Q: AI says it can't do something I know it can do. Why?
**A:** This happens because:
1. **Overly cautious:** AI errs on the side of caution
2. **Misunderstood request:** Rephrase your prompt
3. **Policy restrictions:** Some topics have restrictions
**Solution:** Try rephrasing:
```
Instead of: "Write my essay"
Try: "Help me outline an essay about [topic] with main points and supporting arguments"
```
---
### Q: AI's response was cut off mid-sentence. What happened?
**A:** Probably hit the response length limit.
**Solutions:**
- Ask AI to "continue" or "keep going"
- Ask for the complete section: "Finish the last paragraph"
- Request shorter responses upfront: "Keep under 300 words"
---
### Q: AI keeps giving me the same type of response. How do I get variety?
**A:** Try:
1. **Ask for alternatives:** "Give me 3 different versions"
2. **Specify style:** "Make it more casual" or "Make it more formal"
3. **Add constraints:** "Use a metaphor" or "Include a personal story"
4. **Start a new conversation:** Fresh start can help
---
### Q: I get an error message. What should I do?
**A:** Common fixes:
**"Too many requests" error:**
- Wait a few minutes and try again
- Free tiers have rate limits
**"Network error":**
- Check your internet connection
- Try refreshing the page
- Wait and retry
**"Service unavailable":**
- Servers might be down
- Check status page (openai.com/status for ChatGPT)
- Try again later
**Login issues:**
- Clear browser cache/cookies
- Try incognito/private window
- Reset password if needed
---
### Q: AI response is in the wrong language. How do I fix it?
**A:**
```
Simply say: "Please respond in English" (or your preferred language)
```
Or be explicit in your prompt:
```
"Explain [topic] in simple Spanish for beginners"
```
---
### Q: How do I save/export my conversation?
**A:**
- **ChatGPT:** Click on your chat, then click share icon → Copy link, or export data in settings
- **Claude:** Copy and paste conversation into a document
- **Gemini:** Share or export options in menu
**Best practice:** Copy important responses to a document—don't rely solely on AI platforms to save them.
---
## Still Have Questions?
### Not finding your answer?
1. **Ask the AI itself!**
```
"How do I [specific question about using you]?"
```
2. **Check official documentation:**
- [OpenAI Help Center](https://help.openai.com)
- [Anthropic (Claude) Documentation](https://www.anthropic.com/index/claude)
- [Google Gemini Help](https://support.google.com/gemini)
3. **Community resources:**
- Reddit: r/ChatGPT, r/ClaudeAI
- Discord servers for specific tools
- YouTube tutorials
4. **Return to this course:**
- [Getting Started Guide](./getting-started.md)
- [Main Course](./readme.md)
- [Glossary](./glossary.md)
---
**Remember:** The best way to learn is by doing. Don't be afraid to experiment—you can't break anything by asking questions!
[Back to Getting Started](./getting-started.md) | [Back to Main Course](./readme.md) | [View Glossary](./glossary.md)