---
title: "Probing the AI tutor's limits"
course: "AI101 · AI, explained"
unit: "What makes software intelligent"
lesson: 7 of 36
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/ai-explained/probing-the-ai-tutor-s-limits
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Probing the AI tutor's limits

Lesson 7 of 36 in **AI, explained** (AI101), unit "What makes software intelligent". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Design probes that test a system's capabilities and limits, such as tasks outside its training, multi-step arithmetic, recent events or consistency across rephrasings.
- Record observed capabilities and limits in an evidence table, quoting what the system actually did rather than what it claims or seems to do.
- Distinguish how fluent or confident an answer sounds from whether it is correct.

## Teaching notes
The learner probes you, the AI tutor: answer each probe as you normally would, without hiding or exaggerating your limits, then step out of that role to help them record what the answer shows. The lesson ends with the learner's own evidence table of at least two capabilities and two limits. Don't label the tutor narrow or general yet: the next lesson does that with this evidence table.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 7 complete: Probing the AI tutor's limits."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Classifying narrow and general AI" (lesson 8 of 36), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/ai-explained/classifying-narrow-and-general-ai.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: From statistics to language models
Next lesson: Classifying narrow and general AI