How to Document Your Human Contribution to an AI-Assisted Creator Project
Gary WhittakerMilestone 4 — Beginner Action Page
Build your Human Contribution Record in seven focused sessions.
This action plan turns your project, audience and outcome decisions into an organized record of what you contributed, where AI assisted, what came from third parties and what evidence must be preserved.
Review Milestone 4: Establish the Human Contribution before beginning. You can also use the free Human Contribution Record Checklist as a companion.
Session 1 — Capture the human origin
Write down what existed before any AI output:
- the original idea, question or problem;
- your lived experience, expertise or perspective;
- the audience and outcome chosen in Milestones 2 and 3;
- your initial notes, lyrics, outline, recording, sketch or concept;
- the reason you decided this project should exist.
Working statement: “This project began with my decision to ______ for ______ because ______.”
Session 2 — Map contribution by project stage
Create five headings: Definition, Research, Creation, Revision and Publication. Under each heading, list your actions and decisions.
- Definition: project, audience, outcome, format and boundaries.
- Research: questions, sources, interviews, comparisons and fact-checking.
- Creation: writing, performance, prompts, direction, recording, design or production.
- Revision: rejection, selection, rewriting, editing, arrangement and quality checks.
- Publication: title, package, claims, disclosures, delivery and final approval.
Session 3 — Record every AI tool and its purpose
For each tool, record the tool name, model or version when known, date range, input supplied, task requested, output used and important changes you made.
Do not write only “used AI.” Describe the role accurately: brainstorming, organization, generation, transcription, editing, image creation, music generation, research assistance or another defined purpose.
Session 4 — Separate third-party material
Create a different list for anything not created by you or the AI tool under your direction:
- quotations and research sources;
- samples, loops, stock assets or reference files;
- collaborator writing, voices, performances or designs;
- trademarks, characters, likenesses or recognizable brands;
- licensed templates, datasets or customer-supplied material.
Record the source, permission or licence status and any attribution requirement. Mark “unresolved” where the facts are incomplete.
Session 5 — Select the evidence
Preserve at least five items that show the process. Good choices include:
- dated handwritten or digital notes;
- early drafts and outlines;
- voice memos, demos or sketches;
- prompt and generation history;
- before-and-after revisions;
- DAW, design or editing project files;
- version history or tracked changes;
- emails or messages with collaborators;
- source and licence receipts.
Place copies or links inside one clearly named evidence folder.
Session 6 — Write the contribution statement
Use this structure:
I originated ______.
I directed ______.
I personally created or performed ______.
AI tools assisted with ______.
I selected, revised or transformed the results by ______.
Third-party material includes ______.
I remain responsible for reviewing ______ before publication.
Use factual language. Do not make legal conclusions the record cannot prove.
Session 7 — Complete the Human Contribution Record
Project: ______
Creator and collaborators: ______
Project type and first version: ______
Original human idea or source material: ______
Relevant experience or expertise: ______
Audience and intended outcome: ______
Human research and source selection: ______
Human creative direction: ______
Writing, performance or production completed personally: ______
AI tools, versions and purposes: ______
AI outputs used: ______
Human selection, rejection and revision decisions: ______
Third-party material and permission status: ______
Quality, accuracy and safety checks: ______
Evidence folder location: ______
Unresolved rights or attribution questions: ______
Final Human Contribution Statement: ______
Next record update: ______
Beginner AI review prompt
Organize the project facts and evidence I provide into a Human Contribution Record. Separate: 1) documented facts, 2) creator recollection without preserved evidence, 3) AI-assisted material, 4) third-party material, and 5) unresolved rights or permission questions. Do not invent actions, dates, evidence, ownership or legal conclusions. Identify missing records and recommend the next three documentation steps.
Completion checklist
- I recorded what existed before AI output.
- I mapped my work across the project stages.
- I recorded every important AI tool and purpose.
- I separated third-party material and collaborators.
- I preserved at least five evidence items.
- I wrote an accurate contribution statement.
- I flagged unresolved rights questions instead of guessing.
- I scheduled the next record update.
What comes next?
Milestone 5 begins Phase 2 by researching the topic, audience environment and comparable projects. Your Human Contribution Record will help separate your own position and evidence from borrowed assumptions.
