INDEPENDENT MINDS. INTELLIGENT COVERAGE.

AI, ONLY. ALL ANGLES.

AI literacy: ask better questions about an AI product

AI literacy means knowing which questions to ask about a system’s work and its limits.

PromptWireGlobal2 min read
EDITORIALAI literacy: ask better questions about an AI product

In this story

The quick read

  • What information reaches the model? Where does the answer come from? Who can access the result? What happens when the system is wrong? These questions help people choose an appropriate level of trust without needing to become researchers.
  • Ask an assistant to summarise a document you know, then inspect a fact, an omitted qualification and a source reference.

Look beyond the label

Does the product generate text, retrieve information, predict an outcome or take an action? These behaviours need different kinds of review. Trace one complete task instead of relying on the general promise that a feature is powered by AI.

Ask about evidence and control

What information reaches the model? Where does the answer come from? Who can access the result? What happens when the system is wrong? These questions help people choose an appropriate level of trust without needing to become researchers.

Practise with familiar material

Ask an assistant to summarise a document you know, then inspect a fact, an omitted qualification and a source reference. Discuss which errors would matter in the intended setting. Support this practice with suitable organisational training. The aim is informed use: matching demonstrated capability to a task and recognising when additional evidence or expertise is needed. Neither confident acceptance nor blanket rejection substitutes for understanding how a particular workflow behaves.

Sources & notes

AI-assisted editorial content checked against the linked sources.

digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu — official reference

Sources reviewed for the September 2026 launch edition.

KEEP EXPLORING.