Skip to content
Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

← Learn

Thinking with Machines

Four short lessons on working with AI tools without handing over your thinking: say what you mean, lock your own answer first, check it against the source, and know when not to ask.

For grown-ups, from what SpecForge teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1Say what you mean
  2. Lesson 2Lock your own answer first
  3. Lesson 3Check it against the source
  4. Lesson 4Know when not to ask
At the table · 3 to 6 grown-ups

Find the confident mistake

You'll need: Paper, pencils, and the printed brief cards from this page.

  1. One player writes a short brief, such as "plan a picnic for eight people, two of them vegetarian, for under £40".
  2. Another player plays the machine: they answer the brief exactly as written, confidently, and slip in one mistake that the brief did not rule out.
  3. Everyone else hunts for the confident mistake and says which line of the brief would have prevented it.
  4. Rewrite the brief together so the mistake cannot happen, then swap roles.

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →