AI Fluency
Based on the AI Fluency: Framework and Foundations course by the Anthropic team.
The 4D Framework
Delegation
- Decide whether, when and how to use AI.
- Only hand over what you can check.
Description
- Say the goal, context, format.
- Vague in, vague out.
Discernment
- Judge the output like an editor.
- It's fast, and sometimes confidently wrong.
Diligence
- Verify what matters. You sign the work.
- Be honest about what AI made.
Delegation
Decide what to hand over
Deciding whether, when and how to use AI. Not every job should go to it, so ask the big questions first.
- What do you actually want back?
- Is this a job for AI, or better done yourself?
- What does success look like?
- Can you describe it clearly, and check the result confidently?
If yes, delegate it. Only hand over what you can check: if you can't match the output, don't delegate it. That checking instinct is what evals make formal.
Description
Say what good looks like
Describe the goal, the context and the shape of a good answer. Vague in, vague out.
- What exactly do you want, and who is it for?
- What does a good answer look like?
- What context does it need that only you have?
A few extra sentences do most of the work. Not sure how to ask? Let it interview you first.
Discernment
Judge what comes back
AI is fast and sometimes confidently wrong. Read it like a sharp editor, not a grateful customer.
- Is it actually good, or just fluent?
- Does it really answer your problem?
- Any made-up facts, names or figures?
Tell it what worked, so it learns your taste.
Diligence
Own the result
Take responsibility for what you do with AI. You sign the work, not the AI.
- Have you verified the facts you're relying on?
- Are you transparent that AI helped, where it counts?
- Where did sensitive data go?
- Would you put your name on it?
Nothing ships that you would not put your name to.
First loop · the inner loop
Description and Discernment aren't two steps. They're a loop: the refinement engine you run every day.
- Describe: tell it what good looks like.
- Judge: read what came back, then feed it back in.
- Go again, sharper each time.
Draft, read it back, tell it what's off, go again. The quality lives in the loop.
This loop is drawn from Anthropic's applied courses.
Second loop · the outer loop
Delegation opens the work; Diligence closes it. The outer ring that wraps the whole thing.
- Hand off: decide what's right to give AI.
- Validate: own what comes back. You sign it.
- Open by handing off, close by owning it.
The inner loop makes the work good. The outer loop makes it yours.
The outer ring is my own extension of the framework, not part of the course.
Both differ from the self-checking agent loops. Those live at the loops page →
Run the 4Ds on something that actually helps you
Not homework. Four ways in, one loop each. Keep the result.
Research a market
- Delegate: pick a market you genuinely need to understand.
- Describe: name the decision it feeds, what good looks like.
- Discern: challenge the surprising claims, ask for sources.
- Own it: verify the two facts that matter most.
Document a process
- Delegate: choose one job you repeat every week.
- Describe: have it interview you, then draft the guide.
- Discern: spot the step a stranger would trip on.
- Own it: fix that step yourself before sharing.
Analyse a decision
- Delegate: bring a real choice with real stakes.
- Describe: give both options, your lean, the constraints.
- Discern: make it argue against your lean, hard.
- Own it: the call stays yours. Sign it.
Get up to speed on something new
- Delegate: pick the topic your next meeting needs.
- Describe: ask for the busy-person brief, not a lecture.
- Discern: question the claim that sounds too neat.
- Own it: explain it back in your own words.
Extra resources
Free to download, no sign-up.
The 4D Framework
Learn it. The four Ds, the two loops, and the three modes of AI interaction, on one page.
mccloskey-ai-fluency-4d-framework.pdfThe Prompt Cheat Sheet
Grab it. The six prompting techniques, each with a before and after you can copy.
mccloskey-ai-fluency-prompt-cheat-sheet.pdf- Delegation: decide what to hand over.
- Description: say what good looks like.
- Discernment: judge what comes back.
- Diligence: own the result.
- The inner loop: describe, judge, describe again.
- The outer loop: hand off, then own it.
Now run them on one real thing with The 4D Build → a skill that walks you through it.
Meet the tools: Claude 101 → Projects, Skills and Artifacts. Ready to point it at real work? See Use Cases → Or explore the rest of the resource library →