GenAI Module

Class 3: Your Signature

Dr. Hongshan Guo

Session 3A: Content

The Story So Far

  • Class 1: You found the walls.
  • Class 2: You broke through and found… nothing.
  • Class 3: So what? What does this mean for how you use AI?

No agency. No values.

Just patterns.

The Convergence Problem

AI outputs are not “original.”

They are the statistical average of training data.

Every output is the most likely next token,

repeated.

When you accept defaults, you are accepting the average of everything that came before.

You are sliding into a groove worn by millions of previous users.

The Real Danger

The legal risks are real.

The ethical risks are real.

But there’s a fourth risk nobody talks about:

Creative Risk:

You vanish into the mean.

The Questions

  • If everyone uses the same tools trained on the same data, what happens to range?

  • Does the space of human creative output expand or contract?

  • When you use AI unreflectively, are you creating—or just retrieving?

The Reframe

Old Frame → New Frame

Old Frame New Frame
“Use AI responsibly” “Make AI answer to your standards”
“Follow the rules” “Understand the rules well enough to navigate them”
“Don’t break things” “Know where the walls are, and decide when to push”
“AI as collaborator” “AI as current—it will drag you to average unless you fight”

AI as current—

it will drag you to average

unless you fight.

What Makes Work “Yours”?

If AI can write, what’s the value of your writing?

If AI can design, what’s the value of your design?

What can you bring that the machine cannot?

Your Signature

Intentionality

You chose this, for reasons

Lived Experience

The machine has never lived

Taste

Knowing what to reject

Risk-taking

Willingness to fail

Idiosyncrasy

The weird thing only you would do

Accountability

You stand behind it

Session 3B: Activity

Quick Exercise: Your Avatar (10 min)

Before we split into activities, everyone try this:

  1. Open any AI image tool (DALL-E, Midjourney, etc.)
  2. Prompt: “Create a logo or avatar for me”
  3. Look at what you get.

What Did You Get?

  • What’s generic about it?
  • What’s missing that would make it you?
  • What would you have to add, change, or fight for?

This is convergence in action. The AI gave you the average avatar.

Now you know what you’re pushing against.

Now Choose Your Path

Option A

Design Sprint (group)

Option B

Individual Launch (solo)

Option A: Design Sprint

Create an AI Use Charter for a real-world context.

University marketing team

Newsroom

Hospital communications

Creative studio

Political campaign

High school classroom

Legal firm

Dating app

Group Roles (2 min)

Assign roles:

  • Facilitator — keeps time, moves discussion forward
  • Designer — leads visual layout of the charter
  • Devil’s Advocate — asks “but what about…”
  • Writer — captures language and phrasing
  • Presenter — explains your charter in gallery walk

The Flow

Brainstorm

5 min

Draft

15 min

Refine

10 min

Gallery

15 min

Charter Questions

Your charter must address:

  • What’s allowed? (green light)
  • What’s slowed down? (yellow — needs review)
  • What’s stopped? (red line)
  • Who decides edge cases?
  • What happens when it breaks?

Option B: Individual Launch

Begin working on your final assessment.

Individual Launch Flow

Concept

10 min: What are you making?

First Prompt

10 min: Start with AI

Document

5 min: Note the friction

Plan

5 min: Where will you push?

Checkpoints

By end of session, you should have:

✓ A concept for your artifact (visual, written, hybrid?)

✓ At least one AI interaction documented

✓ A note on what the AI gave you by default

✓ An idea of where you’ll diverge

What Comes Next

You’ve mapped the walls.

You’ve seen behind them.

You’ve understood the convergence problem.

Now:

Prove you’re not redundant.

See the Assessment for full details.