Page 3 of 8~96 min topic

What AI is

Recognise real-world forms: chatbot answer

AI appears in different task families. Each family needs different evidence.

~12 min this pageRecognise real-world forms — variation across settingsReviewed 2026-08-08

1Learn the idea

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Five useful task families

See it

AI = judgment-like software

Fits

  • Suggest reply
  • Flag odd purchase
  • Draft from bullets

Not by itself

  • Spreadsheet formula
  • Doorbell circuit
  • “Smart” ad copy

Fits = smart tasks · Not AI by itself = fixed rules

  • Classify: assign a category, such as spam or not spam.
  • Predict: estimate a future value, such as likely demand.
  • Rank or recommend: order options, such as catalogue titles.
  • Generate: create text, images, audio, or code.
  • Control: choose actions in a changing environment, such as a robot vacuum changing direction.

A product can combine families. Harbourview’s chatbot might classify a question, retrieve documents, and generate an answer.

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Worked example: one chatbot, three boundaries

Mira maps three proposed uses:

  1. Opening-hours answers: sourced from a maintained page; easy to verify; low consequence.
  2. Book recommendations: subjective; omissions matter, but patrons can ignore the list.
  3. Benefits advice: rules change and mistakes may affect essential support; authoritative referral is required.

The interface looks the same, but the tasks and stakes differ. Mira approves a limited pilot for opening hours, allows clearly labelled recommendations, and rejects unsupervised benefits advice.

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Misconception

“The chatbot was accurate in our demo, so it is accurate.” A demo is one sample. A useful evaluation includes common questions, ambiguous wording, missing information, outdated pages, and requests the system should decline.

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Guided practice

Classify each library feature by its main family: image-based book sorting, attendance forecasting, a writing assistant, and a robot vacuum. Some have more than one defensible answer. Explain the task boundary, not just the family name.

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Independent transfer

Find one AI feature in an app you use. Record its family, input, output, first likely failure, and how a person can recover. If the product does not disclose enough, state what remains unknown.

Check your understanding

Page assessment

Answer from memory. Completion is saved from this evidence, not from opening the next page.

Why should opening-hours answers and benefits advice have different release criteria even when one chatbot produces both?

1. What is one idea from this page you would apply, and what evidence would you check?

All responses are required.