AI as a building partner
How to use ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor when you are still learning — without handing over the work.
Treat an assistant like a junior colleague who types fast and invents prices. Useful. Not in charge.
What to use it for
- “Explain this error in one paragraph, then give me two things to try.”
- “Turn this paper list into HTML. Do not add a framework.”
- “Shorten this WhatsApp message. Do not add a promise I did not make.”
What not to use it for
- Pasting bank, MoMo, national ID, or a client’s unpublished prices.
- “Build me an app for all of Africa.”
- Submitting its paragraph as yours at school or work without asking the institution.
- Secrets, API keys, or
.envfiles. Ever.
A brief that works on a phone
Reuse the prompt cheatsheet. Minimum:
Job: [HTML page / fix this script / explain this error]
Device: mid-range Android, slow data
Must: [the one behaviour]
Must not: invent prices, add a login, add a library
If unsure: write UNKNOWN
Here is my file:
[paste]
After it answers: delete anything you cannot defend. Type the code into your own file. If you cannot change one colour without the chat open, you do not own the page yet.
Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT
They are different products and the same habit. Cursor sits in the editor; the others sit in a browser. On a thin bundle, prefer one session: paste, copy the useful bit, close. Do not keep a 40-message thread downloading itself.