task = something a person does that you could watch
A job title tells you almost nothing about a day at work. “Scheduler” could mean answering phones, balancing a calendar, or both. In 3.2.1 you saw that a job is a bundle of tasks and that a tool usually lands on one task at a time. To see where a tool lands, you first need the list of tasks.
A good task starts with a verb and has an object: confirm appointments, reset passwords, order supplies. Here is a test. Could you film someone doing it? If you can, it's a task. If you can't, it's probably a topic (“communication”), a requirement (“two years of experience”), or a trait (“positive attitude”).
ExampleFrom a title to a row in your notes
Dana is an invented scheduler at an invented dental office. A student is turning her title into a task list.
Step 1 — The title
“Scheduler.” That's a label. It could hold five tasks or fifty.
Try it on a posting
A job posting is a mix: some tasks, some labels, and a lot of things that aren't tasks at all. Sort the lines of an invented posting.
Posting lab · invented postings · nothing here is saved
Brightway Credit Union (invented) · Sort each line: task, topic, or not a task.
“Answer calls and chats from staff who can't log in or print.”
“Reset passwords after checking who is asking.”
“Record each problem and its fix in the ticket system.”
“Set up new laptops for new hires.”
“Customer service.”
“Technical support.”
“Pass hard problems to a senior technician, with notes on what was already tried.”
“Must have 2 years of experience.”
“Fast-paced, rock-star team culture.”
“Associate degree or equivalent preferred.”
Correct so far: 0 / 10
A good task list
Six to ten tasks.Fewer misses the job. More becomes a list of steps.
A verb and an object.“Confirm appointments,” not “communication.”
Medium size.“Enter insurance details” is a task. “Press the Enter key” is too small. “Run the front desk” is too big.
The worker's words.They know the real names of things.
Where real descriptions come from
Two free public sources describe what workers do in many occupations: O*NET OnLine (onetonline.org), a U.S. Department of Labor–sponsored database, and the Occupational Outlook Handbook (bls.gov/ooh), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both are good places to build a first task list or to use as your backup if you can't reach a worker. Search for the job, read what workers do, and rewrite it as a short list of tasks in your own words. Not every job has an entry that matches the name you know, so try a couple of titles.
⚠️A description is not a day at work. A posting is written to attract applicants, and a database entry is a summary of many jobs. The worker you interview will tell you what's missing, what's out of date, and what the page never mentions. Always say which source your list came from.
Principles of AI · 3.2.3Concept⚠ Watch Out
Questions That Get True Answers
interview guide = the questions you'll ask, in the order you'll ask them
An interview is how you gather evidence about a job. You already know the difference between a claim and evidence from 3.2.2. A good question gets you an example, something the person has seen or done. A weak one gets you an opinion, a guess, or your own words back.
Six ways a question goes wrong
Leading.It pushes the person toward an answer. A leading question gets you your own opinion back.
Closed (yes or no).It can be answered with one word, which gives you nothing to write down.
Two or three questions in one.The person answers whichever part they like best, and you lose the rest.
Asks for private or confidential information.Pay, health, customers' or patients' details, and gossip about a boss aren't yours to ask for, and the worker may not be allowed to share them.
Too vague.The person has to guess what you want, so you get a speech instead of facts.
Asks for a prediction.Nobody can see the future of a job. Ask what has already changed, which they can tell you.
The question doctor
Each goal below has three questions: one good, two flawed. Click them all, and read what each one would get you.
Question doctor · pick the best question for each goal
Goal 1
Learn what the person does in a typical day.
Goal 2
Find out whether a tool touches any of the tasks.
Goal 3
Find out who checks a tool's work before it's used.
Goal 4
Learn what has changed in the job.
Goal 5
Learn which skills one task really needs.
Goal 6
Learn how hard decisions get made, without anyone's private details.
Goal 7
Find out what the job pays.
Goal 8
Close the interview.
Goals solved: 0 / 8
Three habits of a good interviewer
Ask about one task at a time.“Tell me about your job” gets a speech. “Walk me through yesterday” gets tasks.
Ask for an example.“Tell me about one” beats “do you ever.”
Follow up.“Tell me more about that” and “What happened next?” are often your best questions. Leave a minute or two for them.
What goes in your notes
Your Interview Notes Sheet has one row per task. The columns are the same questions and strands you already know, so what you hear drops into place. In 3.2.4 you'll use these rows to X-ray the job.
The columns of the notes sheet
Task.One verb and one object, in the worker's words where you can.
Time.Rough share of a normal week: most, some or little.
Tool?.Does a tool, program or AI do any part of it? Which one?
Tool's role.Substitute (the tool does what a person did) or complement (it helps a person who still decides). From 3.2.1.
Who checks.Who looks at the tool's work before it's used, and can say no? From 3.2.1.
If wrong.Cheap to fix, costly but fixable, or costly and hard to undo? From 3.2.1.
Strand.Make, Know, Connect or Steer: what the task most needs from the person. From 3.2.2.
💡You don't have to ask the worker “is it a substitute or a complement?” They won't use those words. Ask what the tool does and who looks at it, then you decide how to label the row. The labels are yours; the facts are theirs.
Build a guide
Interviews run short. Pick the questions that fit the time, cover what you need, and leave out anything weak or unsafe. There's more than one right guide.
Guide lab · invented interviews · nothing here is saved
An invented pharmacy technician, Mr. Okoye, has agreed to a short phone interview. You have 12 minutes and you want to understand where a tool is used and who checks it.
A pharmacy's patient details are private. Any question that asks for a patient's story is out.
The task listWhere a tool is usedWho checks the tool's workA closing question
Time: 0 / 12 minutes
Principles of AI · 3.2.3SkillExample
Getting Ready, Safely
consent = a clear yes that can be taken back
Your interview is homework, so it happens outside class. That makes the plan matter. A good interview is one where you stay safe, the worker stays comfortable, and nobody's private information ends up in your notes.
Who to ask
Ask an adult you already know who has a job: a relative, a neighbor, a family friend, a coach, a club leader, a staff member at school, or someone at a business your guardian knows. Tell your guardian who, when, and where or how. Phone or video calls work as well as in person. Don't arrange to meet or message strangers you only know online.
Ask first, and say what it's for
A short message you can adapt
“Hi, I'm in a class about how AI is changing work. Could I interview you for about 10 minutes about the tasks in your job? I'd ask what you do, where you use tools, and what has changed. I won't ask about pay or about private information. You can skip any question or stop whenever you like. I'd write my notes without your name, and I won't share anything beyond my class assignment. Would that be okay?”
Is this plan safe?
Plan lab · invented students' plans · nothing here is saved
“I'll ask my aunt, who works at a bank, and my parent will be home for the call.”
“I'll message someone on a social app who says they work in this job, and we'll meet after school.”
“I'll tell my guardian who I'm interviewing, when, and where or how.”
“I'll record the call on my phone without telling the person.”
“I'll write my notes using an alias for the worker, such as "Worker A, dental scheduler".”
“I'll ask the worker to show me real patient records so I can see an example.”
“I'll tell the worker they can skip any question and stop whenever they like.”
“I'll post what they said, with their real name, on social media after.”
“If I can't find a worker, I'll use a real job description from a public site and say so on my sheet.”
“I'll ask the worker to send me their company's internal documents so I can quote them.”
“I'll ask my school's front-office or custodial staff during a free period, with my teacher's okay.”
“I'll send a thank-you note afterward and ask whether I can quote one line, using an alias.”
Correct so far: 0 / 12
Keep it respectful
Permission to record is a separate yes.Notes are enough. Most people don't need recording.
Use an alias in your notes.“Worker A, dental scheduler.” Skip the employer's name unless your teacher says it's fine.
Leave out other people's details.No customer, patient or client names, and nothing confidential from the workplace.
Skip pay questions.Typical pay is in public sources you can look up.
Say thanks.A short note afterward. Ask before you quote a line, and use the alias.
If you can't reach a worker
Not everyone has an adult with a suitable job close by, and that's okay. The backup is a real option, not a lesser one.
Pick a real job that interests you, and ask your teacher for the job-description set, or find one on O*NET OnLine or the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Build the task list yourself from the description, with the camera test.
Write your guide anyway. The questions you'd ask are the part your teacher can see.
Say where it came from on your sheet: “from a job description,” with the source.
Ask your teacher about other options, such as a staff member at school, a classroom guest, or a classmate's interview you can learn from.
💡Access isn't equal. Time, transportation, family schedules, and who you know all change what's possible. If the interview doesn't work out, tell your teacher early. Nobody should lose credit because the people in their life work evenings or far away.
Optional: a chatbot as a question checker
If your teacher allows a district-approved chatbot, you can ask it to check your questions. Don't paste names, your school, or private details. Chatbots tend to be encouraging, so ask it not to praise, and then check its answer against the six problems yourself. A chatbot is not a worker. If you ask it to play one, its answers are made up, and they can't go in your notes.
Here is my list of interview questions for a worker. For each one, tell me whether it has any of these problems: leading, closed (yes or no), two or three questions in one, asks for private or confidential information, too vague, or asks for a prediction. If it does, suggest a better version.
Don't praise me. Then tell me which of these my list never asks about: the task list, where the time goes, where a tool is used, who checks the tool's work, what has changed, which skills a task needs.
[paste your questions here. No names, no school, no private details]
Your sheets
✍️ Interview Guide⬇ PDFThe Google Doc copy is on the activity's start page.
📝 Interview Notes⬇ PDFThe Google Doc copy is on the activity's start page.
🔑Next, in 3.2.4, you'll use your notes to X-ray the job: score each task, compare what you heard with published data, and write a one-page career brief. The better your task list, the better the X-ray.