Pillars of Safe AI Use

Using AI effectively isn't about avoiding it. It's about using it wisely. These four pillars provide a practical framework for daily AI use that keeps you sharp, accurate, secure, and connected.

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The Four Pillars

These principles distill everything from Why AI Gets Things Wrong and Risks and How to Navigate Them into actionable daily practices.

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1. Keep Thinking

Core principle: AI enhances, never replaces your judgment.

AI is a tool to amplify your capabilities, not a replacement for your brain. Your critical thinking, creativity, and decision-making must stay active.

In Practice

Use AI to explore options, then decide yourself:

• Generate multiple approaches with AI
• Evaluate them with your expertise
• Make the final call based on your judgment

Question outputs, explore alternatives, stay curious:

• Ask "why?" and "what else?" constantly
• Challenge suggestions that seem too easy or perfect
• Look for gaps, assumptions, and weak reasoning

Set boundaries for human-first tasks:

• Strategic decisions: always yours
• Ethical judgments: always yours
• Creative vision: AI assists, you lead
• Final decisions: review and own them

Regularly work without AI:

• Practice solving problems independently
• Keep your thinking sharp through regular exercise
• Compare your approach to AI's to learn from both

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2. Stay Critical

Core principle: AI guesses; you verify.

AI is confident even when wrong. Your job is to verify what matters and challenge what doesn't make sense.

In Practice

Always check facts, sources, and reasoning:

• Verify statistics, dates, citations, and claims
• Cross-check with trusted sources or experts
• Use search features when available to ground responses in real data
• Never share AI output externally without review

Challenge confident-sounding errors:

• Question outputs that sound too perfect
• Test claims against your knowledge
• Ask AI to explain its reasoning, then evaluate it

Compare AI output with your own knowledge:

• Use your expertise as a filter
• Notice when AI contradicts what you know
• Catch bias, stereotypes, or skewed perspectives

Treat AI as a draft, not a final product:

• All AI outputs need human review
• Add your expertise, context, and judgment
• Improve, refine, and personalize before using

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3. Stay Secure

Core principle: We protect infrastructure. You protect secrets.

MomentumAI provides a secure environment, but you're responsible for what you share. Think before you type.

In Practice

Work inside MomentumAI's secure workspace:

• Use MomentumAI for work involving any sensitive data
• Understand which tools are safe for which data
• Follow your organization's AI policies
• See our Trust Center for details

Never share passwords, IDs, or confidential details:

• No passwords, PINs, credit card numbers, medical IDs
• No client secrets, proprietary data, or competitive information
• No personal information that could cause harm if leaked
• When in doubt, leave it out

Follow your organization's data policies:

• Know what's classified as confidential
• Understand data handling requirements
• Get approval for unclear cases
• Report potential data exposure immediately

Type like your prompt might become public:

• If you wouldn't say it in a public forum, don't type it
• Redact sensitive details from examples
• Use fictional data instead of real sensitive information
• Regularly audit what you've shared in chat histories

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4. Stay Human

Core principle: Collaboration beats isolation.

AI is a productivity tool, but human connection drives creativity, empathy, and meaningful work. Don't let efficiency kill collaboration.

In Practice

Use AI to prepare, then discuss with humans:

• Generate ideas with AI, refine them with colleagues
• Draft with AI, get feedback from people
• Research with AI, discuss findings with your team

Keep learning, practicing, and creating independently:

• Don't let AI do everything for you
• Practice skills you want to maintain
• Keep building expertise through active learning
• Create things from scratch regularly

Maintain team rituals and real-world connections:

• Keep brainstorms, retrospectives, and planning sessions human-first
• Use face-to-face time for relationship building
• Choose conversation over chat when connection matters
• Balance AI efficiency with human creativity

Recognize when humans are better:

• Building relationships and trust
• Understanding emotional context and empathy
• Navigating complex interpersonal situations
• Making ethical or value-based judgments
• Creative breakthroughs requiring diverse perspectives

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Putting It All Together

These four pillars work together to create a balanced approach to AI use:

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Quick Decision Framework

When using AI, ask yourself:

Before using AI:

• Is this task better done with human collaboration?
• Does this involve sensitive data that shouldn't be shared?
• Am I using AI because it's better, or just because it's easier?

While using AI:

• Am I thinking critically about the outputs?
• Am I questioning suggestions or accepting them blindly?
• Is this the kind of task that keeps my skills sharp?

After using AI:

• Did I verify important facts and claims?
• Did I add my own expertise and judgment?
• Would I be comfortable if this output became public?
• Should I discuss this with colleagues before finalizing?

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Final Thoughts

AI is a powerful collaborator, but you remain the expert, the decision-maker, and the human in the loop. These pillars aren't restrictions; they're the foundation for using AI to its full potential while staying sharp, accurate, secure, and connected.

Awareness is your best safeguard. Use AI deliberately. Keep your judgment active.