A message can warn people about a conflict without preventing the conflict from damaging someone else’s work.
The practical check
Ask what must happen when two pieces of work collide: warn, pause, require a choice, or block the action until the conflict is resolved.
Where AI fits
AI can identify conflicting changes and explain the possible collision before work proceeds.
The human decision
People decide how to resolve the conflict; the system must enforce the stop where overwriting is possible.
The lesson
A conflict deserves an enforced halt when continuing could overwrite someone else’s work; a warning alone is not a safe substitute for the stop.
The Build Log companion walks through the actual conflict this post is drawn from, and the halt gate that replaced a warning that could not stop the overwrite.
AI Skills
Use this lesson with the AI assistant you already use
Map a conflict into detection, halt condition, decision owner, and safe resume step.
Paste the prompt, share only the context needed to answer it, and treat the result as a draft for your review. Do not include confidential information or let an AI assistant make changes without your approval.
Optional: for a visual report and saved memory, run /dxdev first.
Don’t have it? Get it at dxdev.com/skills/dxdev. The prompt works without it.
dxdev LESSON · paste into your AI agent
LESSON: Turn a Warning Into a Real Stop
WHAT TO SHARE:
A de-identified description of the work, current evidence, and the decision you are considering.
ASK YOUR AGENT TO:
1. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and unanswered questions.
2. Map a conflict into detection, halt condition, decision owner, and safe resume step.
3. Identify the narrowest useful next review step.
RETURN:
A short table with the evidence, uncertainty, human-owned decision, and next action.
BOUNDARY: Do not change records, contact anyone, route work, publish content, or act in an external system. A person must review the evidence and approve every consequential step.
