Rock: Check What Your AI-Assisted Idea Must Stand On
Gary WhittakerCore Squared · Step 2
Rock: Check What Your AI-Assisted Idea Must Stand On
Rock separates enthusiasm from readiness. It does not ask whether you still like the idea. It asks what the idea depends on.
What you will be able to do
- Identify assumptions and dependencies.
- Separate confirmed facts from guesses.
- Recognize rights, permission and professional-help questions.
- Check skills, tools, time and resources.
- Decide whether the idea is ready for a controlled test.
The six-part beginner Rock Check
1. Truth
Which claims must be accurate? Which sources need checking? What is opinion, interpretation or creative fiction?
2. Rights and permission
What did you make? What came from AI or outside material? What references, samples, licences or platform terms may matter?
3. Skill
What can you do now? What must be learned? What requires an editor, engineer, designer, lawyer or other qualified person?
4. Resources
Check time, tools, budget, files, access and collaborators. Missing resources must remain visible.
5. Audience reality
What evidence suggests the intended person has the need? What would change your direction?
6. Risk and stopping conditions
What could cause harm, break trust or make you pause before testing?
Use four honest labels
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Confirmed | You have reliable evidence or direct control. |
| Needs checking | You know the question but have not verified it. |
| Assumption | You are currently treating a belief as though it were true. |
| Stop issue | The test should not proceed until corrected or qualified help is obtained. |
Worked example
Rock Check for the beginner AI music guide
- Confirmed: the creator has completed several AI song projects and can demonstrate the folder structure.
- Needs checking: current platform export labels and file options.
- Assumption: beginners understand stems, metadata and contribution record.
- Stop issue: the guide must not claim that documentation guarantees copyright ownership.
Your exercise: complete the Rock Check
- Three confirmed items
- Three items needing verification
- Two assumptions
- Any rights or permission question
- Required skills and resources
- Your stop condition
Make a readiness decision
- Ready to test
- Ready after one correction
- Needs more research
- Requires qualified help
- Pause or reject
Rock succeeds when it improves the decision, even when the answer is not to proceed.
Common beginner mistakes
- Searching only for supporting evidence.
- Assuming AI explanations are verified sources.
- Confusing tool access with permission for every use.
- Hiding a missing skill inside a larger prompt.
- Proceeding without a stopping condition.
You are finished when
You have a completed Rock Check, a readiness decision and a visible list of unresolved issues.
Carry into Cycle
- Approved Flame
- Confirmed facts and controls
- Unresolved assumptions
- Scope and stop conditions
