How to Make Flashcards with AI

Spaced repetition apps such as Anki show you a card just before you are likely to forget it, and they lengthen the gap each time you answer correctly. That scheduling only helps if the cards are good, and card writing is where AI is both useful and risky. Good cards follow what SuperMemo creator Piotr Wozniak called the minimum information principle: each card tests one small fact. A card asking for all three branches of the US government is harder to learn than three separate cards, because you can half-know a list and still mark yourself correct. Cloze deletions hide one part of a sentence, for example 'The mitochondria produce most of the cell's {{c1::ATP}}', and suit definitions and facts that need context. Q&A cards suit explanations and cause-and-effect. A practical workflow: 1. Paste one section of notes at a time. 2. Tell the model the card type, the maximum answer length and the output format. 3. Review every card before you import. Anki imports plain text files with fields separated by tabs or commas, and its Cloze note type uses the double-brace syntax shown above, so you can ask the AI for exactly that format. Watch for three common misconceptions: - **More cards is better.** It is not. A model will happily turn every sentence into a card, and a bloated deck becomes a chore you abandon. - **AI cards are accurate.** Not automatically. Models can misstate a detail or add a plausible fact that is not in your source. Ask them to use only the text you provide and to quote the sentence each card came from. - **Editing is wasted effort.** Rewording a card in your own terms is itself a form of learning. Treat the AI output as a draft, delete cards you do not need, and fix any card whose answer can be guessed from the question.