Hello, World
After this drill, you have sent the same prompt to all five AI services and developed your first taste for which tool fits which job — and you have written your first capstone brief.
Why this matters
AI literacy begins with discrimination — not between good and bad models, but between different strengths and styles. The only way to develop this discrimination is through direct comparison. You'll also write your capstone brief today, even though you won't build it for weeks. Starting with the end in mind creates a thread of intention that runs through the entire course.
How to do it
- 1
Open all five AI tools simultaneously in separate browser tabs
claude.ai, chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com, grok.com, perplexity.ai — all open at once.
- 2
Send this exact prompt to all five tools, one at a time
Copy the prompt below. Send it to Claude first, then the others. Do not modify the prompt.
- 3
Screenshot or copy each response before moving to the next
You'll compare them after. A quick screenshot works fine — you don't need to save the full text.
- 4
Answer the reflection questions for yourself
Which response would you show to someone else? Why? What's different about them? Write 3–5 sentences.
- 5
Write your capstone brief — 3 sentences in Claude
Have an app in mind? Use the Capstone Brief prompt below. No idea yet? Use the 'Find Your Capstone Direction' prompt instead — it asks for your professional context and suggests 3 directions you could build. Either way: save the result. You'll return to it in Module 6.
The prompt
I want to understand what makes for a meaningful life. Give me your best answer in exactly 150 words. No bullet points — just a thoughtful paragraph. Write as if you're speaking directly to me, not summarizing philosophy.
I'm taking an AI course and I want to describe the application I'll build at the end. Help me write a 3-sentence capstone brief by asking me these questions one at a time: 1. Who is this app for? 2. What problem does it solve for them? 3. What would "done" look like — what would they be able to do with it? After I answer all three, write the brief as 3 clear sentences I can save and return to.
I'm taking an AI course and I need to build a web application as my capstone. I don't have a specific project in mind yet. Here is my professional context: [DESCRIBE YOUR ROLE, WHAT YOU DO, THE PROBLEMS YOU FACE REGULARLY, AND WHO YOU WORK WITH] Based on this, suggest 3 possible capstone projects: - Each should solve a real problem I actually face - Each should be buildable in 5–8 hours with AI assistance - Each should be something genuinely useful — not a toy demo For each suggestion, give me the 3-sentence brief: (1) who it's for, (2) what problem it solves, (3) what "done" looks like.
Success criteria
- ✓You sent the prompt to all five tools
- ✓You have screenshots or copies of all five responses
- ✓You wrote a 3–5 sentence reflection on which tool you prefer and why
- ✓You wrote a 3-sentence capstone brief describing the app you will build in Module 6
Common mistakes
Judging responses by length (longer = better)
→ Length is noise. Judge by whether you'd share it with someone who needed this information. A 150-word paragraph that lands is worth more than a 500-word essay that hedges.
Writing a vague capstone brief
→ The three-question approach forces specificity. If your answer to "what problem does it solve" is vague, Claude will push back. Let it.
Skipping the reflection
→ The reflection is the drill. The responses are just the raw material. If you don't write down what you noticed, the comparison doesn't build judgment — it just generates noise.