Module Check: Choosing Your Tools
You have covered a lot of ground in this module. You started by recognizing that you have real choices among AI tools. You studied lock-in and why it accumulates invisibly. You explored the open-versus-closed spectrum and what it means for your freedom. You built a framework for comparing tools, unpacked the real cost of free, learned how to switch and take your data with you, explored running AI yourself, and designed a resilient toolkit. Now it is time to tie it all together. This lesson reviews the essential vocabulary, tests your understanding across the full module arc, and asks you to synthesize everything into a clear personal position.
Key Terms: Flashcard Review
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
Module Quiz
A student has used the same AI writing assistant for two years. All their drafts are saved only in the tool's proprietary format, the tool knows their writing style deeply, and they have pre-paid for an annual subscription. Which statement BEST describes their situation?
A developer wants to process 200,000 medical records to find patterns in patient notes. Privacy regulations require that no patient data leave the hospital's network. Which tool approach is most appropriate?
A tech company releases an AI model and calls it open because they published a detailed research paper. A privacy researcher wants to audit the model for bias by inspecting its parameters. Can she do this?
Which of these is the STRONGEST sign that a free AI tool's real cost is your data?
What is the difference between the right to access and the right to portability under data protection law?
A student builds an AI toolkit with five different tools, all from the same large technology company. The company announces it is shutting down its AI division. What happens to the student's toolkit?
Synthesis Activity
Your Sovereignty Statement
- This final activity asks you to synthesize the module into your own clear position — a Sovereignty Statement.
- PART 1 — THE LANDSCAPE (3-4 sentences)
- Describe the AI tool landscape as you now understand it. What kinds of organizations build AI tools? What are the key differences between them that matter to a user who wants to stay in control?
- PART 2 — YOUR BIGGEST INSIGHT (2-3 sentences)
- What is the single most important thing you learned in this module that you did not know before — or that you knew vaguely but now understand precisely? Why does it matter to you personally?
- PART 3 — YOUR CURRENT VULNERABILITY (2-3 sentences)
- Identify the most significant way you are currently not sovereign in your AI tool use. Be specific: what tool, what kind of lock-in, what would happen if that tool changed tomorrow?
- PART 4 — YOUR COMMITMENT (2-3 sentences)
- Name one concrete action you will take in the next two weeks to increase your sovereignty. It must be specific enough that someone else could verify whether you did it. Examples: export all data from Tool X and save it in open format, research one open-weight alternative to Tool Y, run a local model on your computer at least once.
- PART 5 — A DEFINITION IN YOUR OWN WORDS
- Complete this sentence in your own words, without looking back at any lesson: A sovereign AI user is someone who...