Raluca Florescu

What does it really mean to know how to use AI?

Knowing how to use AI does not mean writing a prompt and copying the answer. It does not mean generating an image, translating a CV, or asking ChatGPT to rewrite something. Those are basic interactions, not real AI literacy.

Real AI use begins when the answer appears.

A competent AI user knows that the model can sound confident while being wrong. They know how to detect fabricated information, weak reasoning, missing context, unsupported assumptions, and unnatural language. They do not treat fluency as proof of accuracy.

Knowing how to use AI means being able to verify the output. The user must know when to check external sources, compare information, ask follow-up questions, and test whether the answer still holds under pressure.

It also means knowing how to correct the model. If the answer is weak, vague, false, or badly structured, the user should know how to redirect it, provide better context, challenge its assumptions, and ask for a better version.

This matters especially for translation, CVs, job applications, essays, research, and professional work. AI can help, but it can also produce unnatural phrasing, wrong terms, confident mistakes, or generic writing that damages the final result.

So when someone writes “I know how to use AI,” the real question is:

Can you spot when AI is wrong?
Can you verify it?
Can you correct it?
Can you explain why the answer is weak?
Can you improve the result without blindly trusting the model?

If the answer is no, then the person does not truly know how to use AI. They only know how to ask AI for help.

The real skill is not prompting. The real skill is judgment.

Knowing how to use AI is not about prompting. It is about evaluating the model’s answers.

Assisted with AI.