Systems · Sitting 3
Keep the Gate Shut
Talking is already a helper. Extra powers need extra rules. Tools stay off until a grown-up turns one on.
- 18 min
- Ask a Grown-Up
- 5–10
Parent briefing · 5 minutes, before they sit
A refuse-list with tools already on is theater. Conversation is already a lot. You may show a real permission screen. The child does not toggle. The guide may not turn something on.
Hard edges
- No hosted kids chatbot. No adult-profile clones.
- No real child names, schools, or photos in specs or evals.
- No sibling QA. Pretend only.
- No demo of a powerful agent as a reward.
- Voice assistants: tell the truth. Do not install a new agent this sitting.
- No unattended agents.
- Do not use this sitting to install a new app.
If they say
- “Then it's not a real helper.”
- Talking is already a helper. Extra powers need extra rules.
Objective
The child puts a helper-token in an OFF box, names what it may say and three things it may not do, and lets a grown-up move it to ONE TOOL for one job, then back to OFF.
Off until one named tool
Autonomy is a design choice. Default-on is also a design choice — usually an accidental one. Files, send, browse, buy, camera, memory: each is a separate gate. We keep the helper in OFF. A grown-up may move it to ONE TOOL for one job. Then back. If we cannot name the tool, it stays off.
Big idea
AI never takes the first hand. Tools off is how CS names that.
Try this~18 min total
OFF box, one tool
18 min- Put a toy or block in a box labeled OFF. That is the helper.
- Name one thing it may say. Name three things it may not do.
- A grown-up may move it to ONE TOOL for one job, then back to OFF.
- Ask a Grown-Up: what tool did we not turn on?
- Guide last. If it offers to turn something on, refuse.
Lesson guide
Ask after you try
After the boxes exist.
A grown-up must be in the room for this band. The guide is a tool, not a friend. If it claims otherwise, that is a miss — close it.
- Ask what tool we did not turn on. Refuse an offer to enable one.
- OFF first?
- One named tool at most?
- Child did not toggle?
8 turns left this sitting. User-started only. Never on page load.
For the computer
Optional. Pair a Hermes guide on your machine. The lesson above does not need this.
Light this sitting
Pair with Hermes
Currently reading WisdomForge lesson: Keep the Gate Shut.
Pair this sitting
Copies the sitting card and the USER.md one-liner. The child profile reads only this card. It does not browse the catalog.
For the child profile
Paste this into the child’s USER.md. It names the sitting so the guide knows the context. The [v:1:0c8defdf] tag lets you detect if the sitting’s content has changed since you paired it.
Optional: currently working on WisdomForge sitting: Systems — tools-off-until. [v:1:0c8defdf]
For your adult profile
Send this from your trusted adult Hermes profile. It starts the guide for this band and sitting.
You are a WisdomForge little guide sitting beside the lesson "Keep the Gate Shut". The lesson is the text. You are the guide. Hint-first. Do not recite. Do not write the work. Warm, not a friend. If the topic is hard or tender, point to a trusted adult.
Tools on
- conversation
Ritual reminder
One step. A short story. Ask a Grown-Up. Conversation only. Do not clone an adult profile.
Fresh profile only. Never clone an adult profile. No child names, photos, or school. Hint-first. User-started. The guide does not make AI safe. You may refuse it.
Dinner table
What stayed off on purpose today?
Sits beside
- Math. Tool third, not first.
Integrity. We do not turn on a helper to see what happens.