{ "schemaVersion": "1.0", "title": "Five minutes of useful AI", "publisher": "University of El Segundo", "checkedAt": "2026-10-27T18:17:05.370978Z", "description": "Four visible, independent mini lessons with sample prompts, fictional examples where stated, checks and sources. This page does not run an AI model or send messages.", "lessons": [ { "id": "check-a-story", "number": "01", "title": "Check a local story", "subtitle": "A good answer leaves a trail.", "idea": "An AI can summarize a claim, but a current official or original source is what lets you check it. Match the place, publication date and event date before you pass it on.", "exampleLabel": "FICTIONAL PRACTICE", "example": "“A road near El Segundo will close Friday.” This example is invented. You do not yet know the road, the date or whether any closure is real.", "prompt": "Help me check this claim: [paste the claim]. Find the original source if you can access the web. Show the exact place, publication date, event date and source link. Separate what the source confirms from what remains unknown. If you cannot browse or find a source, say so. Do not invent one.", "checks": [ "Open the original source yourself and check that it supports the claim.", "Check the year, place and whether the event date is still ahead.", "If a key detail is missing, say “unconfirmed” and leave it out." ], "sources": [ { "label": "Full lesson: check an answer", "url": "/university/reader/#ai-05" }, { "label": "City of El Segundo official website", "url": "https://www.elsegundo.gov/" }, { "label": "Report a correction", "url": "/report/" } ] }, { "id": "find-a-job", "number": "02", "title": "Find a local job", "subtitle": "Use AI for the search. Verify before applying.", "idea": "A job board can lead you to opportunities, but a listing may be old or copied. Confirm the role and location on the employer’s own careers page before you act.", "exampleLabel": "FICTIONAL PRACTICE", "example": "“A fictional aerospace employer has a communications internship near El Segundo.” This is a made-up example, not an open position.", "prompt": "Help me make a shortlist of [type of role] near [city]. For each possible role, show the employer, location, posting date and a link to the employer’s own current listing. Mark anything you cannot verify as unknown. If you cannot browse, help me plan the search instead. Do not apply, contact anyone, or invent vacancies.", "checks": [ "Open the employer’s actual careers page; check the role is still listed and the location fits.", "Keep Social Security numbers, bank details, identity documents and private contact details out of the prompt.", "Be wary of a request to pay for a job or share sensitive data before you have verified the employer." ], "sources": [ { "label": "Full lesson: smart sharing", "url": "/university/reader/#ai-06" }, { "label": "Local jobs guide", "url": "/jobs/" }, { "label": "FTC: recognizing job scams", "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams" } ] }, { "id": "make-local-art", "number": "03", "title": "Imagine a local artwork", "subtitle": "Make a place-inspired image, then label it.", "idea": "A text prompt can describe a mood, color and composition. An imagined scene is creative work; it is not evidence that a local place, event or condition looks that way.", "exampleLabel": "SAMPLE CREATIVE BRIEF", "example": "An imagined coastal afternoon with deep navy shadows, warm orange light and a tiny paper kite. It is an illustration idea, not a photograph.", "prompt": "Create an imagined illustration inspired by a Southern California coastal afternoon. Use deep navy, warm orange and cream, with a tiny paper kite as the focal point. Give it a playful editorial feel. Do not depict a specific real person or claim this is a photograph of a real location.", "checks": [ "Try the prompt in an image tool you already choose to use; access and costs depend on that service.", "Change one detail and compare the results: color, viewpoint or mood.", "When sharing, label it as AI-generated imagined art and credit the creator and tool accurately." ], "sources": [ { "label": "Full lesson: your first Midjourney image", "url": "/university/reader/#ai-09" }, { "label": "Midjourney: getting started", "url": "https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/33329261836941-Getting-Started-Guide" }, { "label": "Michael’s art archive", "url": "/art/" } ] }, { "id": "draft-a-meetup", "number": "04", "title": "Draft a neighbor meetup", "subtitle": "A draft starts a conversation. A host makes the plan.", "idea": "AI can help make a warm invitation, but it cannot supply a real host, reserve a space or speak for someone. Agree the details with the people involved before inviting anyone.", "exampleLabel": "FICTIONAL PRACTICE", "example": "Imagine a Saturday morning park walk for neighbors who like photography. No host, date, reservation or meetup has been confirmed.", "prompt": "Draft a warm, short invitation for a hypothetical neighborhood [interest] meetup. Leave the host, date, time, exact meeting place, accessibility details and RSVP method as clearly labeled blanks until confirmed. Ask me to check venue rules and obtain permission before naming or sharing anyone. Do not send, publish or book anything.", "checks": [ "Confirm a willing host, actual date and meeting place; check any venue requirements.", "Ask people before naming them or sharing their contact details.", "Review the invitation yourself and send it only if you choose." ], "sources": [ { "label": "Full lesson: a prompt you can test", "url": "/university/reader/#ai-04" }, { "label": "Park Circles: explore the idea", "url": "/park-circles/" }, { "label": "City parks and facilities", "url": "https://www.elsegundorecparks.gov/parks-facilities/parks-facilities-directory" } ] } ] }