When should we use AI?

Evaluating AI use cases.

Starting next month here at Biola, I will be teaching a course called “Business Applications of Artificial Intelligence.” I have several goals for the class, including having the students learn some AI tools, doing some vibe coding, participating in a hackathon, and hearing from guest speakers. But maybe the topic I am most excited to explore with the students is the idea of evaluating AI use cases. Specifically, I want to be able to help students discern when and how artificial intelligence should be used in both business and personal situations.

AI-generated image of a person deciding which path to take, one with AI or one without AI.

Of course, the first problem to tackle is to determine exactly what the use cases should be evaluated against. Here at the AI Lab at Biola University, we published our Biblical Principles for the Understanding and Use of AI last summer, so that was a starting point. Earlier this summer, Gloo and partners published a benchmark for Flourishing AI, which is a great addition. I also admire the work of both Nicholas Carr and Jonathan Haidt, which also can be applied here.

Using these as a starting point gives us some good ideas for criteria to consider when using AI. Here are just a few ideas that could be developed into part of the evaluation rubric:

• Does this use of AI encourage isolation or more meaningful human interaction?

• Does this use of AI short-circuit deeper thought and reflection?

• Does this use of AI demonstrate responsible stewardship of time and money?

• Does this use of AI still leave room for true creativity and excellence?

I would love to get feedback on these and ideas for more, so feel free to drop a comment. If you know of others writing about this, please do share! And as I begin to work through these ideas with my students, I’ll be sharing more, so take a moment to subscribe if you’d like to stay in the loop.