From questions to projects
At first I used AI the way most people do: ask a question, get an answer. The change came when I started giving it a real job to do, with real context, and treating what came back as a draft to check rather than an answer to trust.
The habits that matter
Building real things with AI comes down to a few rules I work by:
- Plan first: decide what's being built and how it'll be checked before anything changes
- Read before you write: look at the real file, page or data, never a guess about it
- Check the real thing: test against the live site or real numbers, not against what should happen
- Report honestly: say what's finished, what isn't, and what's only assumed
What I'd tell someone starting
Start with a real problem you care about, not a tutorial. Give the AI the facts it needs to do the job well. And never trust a confident answer you haven't checked.
Written by Ernie Hoggard, founder of Ernex.