How this exercise works
- Pick a hat below. Each one asks a different kind of question.
- Tap "Copy prompt" on any card, then paste it into your AI assistant.
- Read the reply slowly. Notice what surprised you.
- Try a second hat on the same topic and compare what changes.
Each hat offers three depths: Simple gets you moving, Deeper adds structure, and Doorway opens something unexpected.
New to all of this? Start with Fixer Hat — Simple. It hands you practical templates right away, so AI feels less abstract before you understand everything.
Finder Hat — Find
The explorer's hat. Wear it to gather the lay of the land: what AI is, what it does, and what most people never think to ask.
I'm new to AI. Please explain what AI is in plain language, with 5 everyday examples of how people use it at home, at work, and for learning.
Give me a beginner-friendly overview of the main ways people use AI today. Organize it into categories like finding information, writing, planning, learning, and creativity. For each category, include one benefit, one limitation, and one thing to be careful about.
Pretend you are a patient guide for someone learning AI very slowly. What are 10 surprisingly useful things AI can help with that most beginners do not think to ask about?
Framer Hat — Frame
The thinker's hat. Wear it to examine your own assumptions — what you believe AI is, and what that belief hides.
Help me think about AI in a balanced way. What are the most helpful and most misleading assumptions beginners often have about what AI can do?
Help me examine my mental model of AI. What changes if I think of AI not as a machine that knows things, but as a tool for conversation, pattern-finding, and idea-making? What does that view clarify, and what does it hide?
If AI were introduced 100 years ago, how might people have described its role using the language and values of that time? Use this thought experiment to reveal what we assume about AI today.
Fixer Hat — Fix
The workshop hat. Wear it to build skill: better prompts, small daily practice, and steady improvement.
I want to get better at using AI, but I'm not sure what to ask. Give me 10 simple prompt templates I can use for everyday tasks, with one example for each.
Design a gentle 7-day beginner practice plan for learning AI at a slow pace. Each day should include one small task, one example prompt, and one reflection question about what I noticed.
Look at the kinds of questions beginners ask AI and show me how to improve them. Give me 8 weak prompts, then rewrite each one into a clearer, more useful version and explain why the rewrite works better.
Flyer Hat — Fly
The aviator's cap. Wear it to imagine, play, and let the conversation lift off the ground.
Imagine AI as a friendly helper in daily life. Write 10 playful examples of how it might assist with ordinary moments like cooking, remembering, learning, or planning.
Create a short story about a person who learns to use AI one tiny step at a time. Show how their questions evolve from basic requests to more thoughtful and creative conversations.
If AI were a room in a house, what kind of room would it be, what objects would be inside it, and what would those objects symbolize about how AI helps and misleads us?
After you try a hat or two
- Which hat felt most natural to you? Which felt strangest?
- Did the same topic look different under two different hats?
- What is one question you now want to ask that you didn't have before?