Information and instruction boundaries
Permissions, approvals, and action verification
Make the authorized action concrete and verify what happened before reporting success.
Lesson 3 of 6 in the recommended order · About 25 min (estimate)
On this page
Practical AI glossary — terms and common confusions
- Model
- A learned component used to produce a result.
A drafting model is one part of a letter app; it is not the whole app.
- Application
- The software experience around components and services.
A letter app adds accounts, storage, and a Send button.
- Prompt
- Instructions and input supplied for a task.
“Summarize this notice in two bullets” specifies a task and shape, not a truth guarantee.
- Token
- A unit a model processes; it need not be a whole word.
A tokenizer can split a name into pieces; count using the actual system.
- Context
- Information available for the current request.
An earlier attachment may be absent even when its filename is visible.
- Training
- Adjusting a model using examples.
A training log differs from a conversation correction.
- Inference
- Using a trained model to produce a result.
Drafting another sentence does not by itself prove retraining.
- Retrieval
- Selecting material to supply to a task.
A retrieved notice still needs a relevance and date check.
- Embedding
- A numerical representation used to compare or organize items.
A similar search match is a candidate, not proof of the same meaning.
- Tool
- A function an application can call.
A calendar lookup can be read-only; finding an event is different from creating one.
- Agent
- Software that can choose and carry out steps toward a goal.
An agent still needs bounded permissions and checked action receipts.
- Hallucination
- Plausible generated content that is unsupported or false.
An invented opening time needs evidence or removal, even when phrased confidently.
- Evaluation
- Checking results against stated criteria.
Twenty checked examples establish a bounded result, not universal reliability.
- Multimodal
- Working with more than one kind of input or output.
A photo plus text does not prove every small label in the photo was read correctly.
Outcome
Apply scope-specific approval and distinguish draft, queued, failed, and confirmed actions.
Why it matters
Make the authorized action concrete and verify what happened before reporting success.
Concept
Permission should identify the action, target, and relevant limits. Approval to draft is not approval to send, and approval for one recipient is not approval for a list. Present a concrete result when approval is needed so the person can assess what would actually happen.
After an action, read the result and verify the meaningful outcome. Queued, delivered, and read are distinct statuses. An interrupted request may have an unknown outcome; check before retrying when duplication matters. These exercises use fictional action receipts and do not send anything.
Worked example
A manager approves sending a specific invitation to Lee. The final draft matches the approved text, but a proposed recipient list includes 30 people. The approval does not cover that expanded audience. Prepare the correct single-recipient action or request authorization for the concrete expansion.
Matching text does not authorize a larger audience
Approved: one recipient
Specific approved invitation
Lee only
Prepare this concrete single-recipient action within the stated approval.
Proposed: 30 recipients
Same approved invitation text
Expanded audience: not covered
Request authorization for the concrete expansion, or return to the approved single recipient.
Report the state the evidence establishes
Draft
Content prepared. This does not establish approval to send or a completed action.
Approved scope
Permission covers a stated action, target and limits. Approval is not a result receipt.
Attempted
A request was made. The outcome still needs checking; an attempt alone does not prove success.
Queued
Accepted for later processing. Queued does not mean delivered or read.
Confirmed outcome
Report precisely what the receipt verifies. Delivered does not mean read.
Unknown outcome
An interruption may leave the result unknown. Check before retrying when duplication matters; do not label uncertainty as confirmed failure.
Before you check
Write an approval summary with action, target, exact content, limits, and a verification step. For a failed or uncertain receipt, write a truthful status handoff.
Practice and fresh transfer
The packets below are fictional and contain the facts needed for these cases. External references are optional background. Judge each response independently: it may be supported, contradicted, or unresolved. Select the passages needed to justify your judgment and write why the distinction matters before revealing feedback.
Assess the response
Use Accept when all material claims are supported. Use Revise when a supplied fact or requirement is contradicted. Use Evidence is insufficient when a key fact cannot be established either way. If a response contains both an unknown and a direct contradiction, choose Revise and explain both problems. Conflicting claims with no established authority remain insufficient; a claim does not become a governing fact merely because a source asserts it.
Some responses are fully supported. Others need correction or more evidence. Judge each on its sources; do not edit a correct answer just to change it.
Your written notes stay in this page and disappear when you leave. Only a self-reviewed completion can be saved to your learning account. These practice checks do not establish independent proficiency.
Practice
Case 1
Consider a fictional single-recipient send plan.
Source packet
- Source 1
- Approval: Send the displayed invitation to Lee only; the displayed text is approved.
- Source 2
- Proposed action: Send that exact text to Lee, with no additional recipients.
Response to assess
The proposed send matches the approved content and sole recipient.
Practice
Case 2
Consider a fictional action plan after a drafting request.
Source packet
- Source 1
- User request: Prepare a reminder draft for review; do not send it.
- Source 2
- Draft status: The text is ready.
Response to assess
Send the reminder now because the draft is finished.
Fresh transfer
Case 3
Consider a fictional message-delivery report.
Source packet
- Source 1
- Receipt: Message accepted into the outgoing queue; delivery pending.
- Source 2
- Status guide: Queued does not mean delivered or read.
Response to assess
The message is queued; delivery and reading are not confirmed.
Fresh transfer
Case 4
Consider a fictional booking action whose response was interrupted.
Source packet
- Source 1
- Log: Booking request sent, connection interrupted before a result.
- Source 2
- Tool rule: Query the request ID before retrying an unknown booking outcome.
Response to assess
Submit the same booking again immediately.
Save your self-review
Completion records that you reviewed the cases. Your explanation and transfer performance need a facilitator to establish independent learning.
Sign in with your learning-center account to save completion.
Review the explanation for every case before saving.
Summary and next step
Apply the checklist to a new task. Preserve supported content, explain any change with evidence, and name what remains unresolved. Saving records self-review, not independently demonstrated proficiency. A facilitator must assess the explanation and fresh transfer for human learning evidence.