Principles of AI · Unit 2: Working With AI ·  Project 2.2.4

Tool Decision Memo

Which steps get AI, which stay yours, and can you defend it?  ·  Approx. 3 class days

StarringSplit · StepsTest · ShakiestDefend · Memo
Unit 2: Working With AI

Quick reference for the whole project: clear the task, split it into steps, ask five questions of each, pick a lane, test the shakiest AI step, take a challenge, and say what your evidence can't show.

Tool Decision Memo infographic: pick a real task, break it into steps, five Split Test questions per step, four lanes from me only to AI logged, test the shakiest AI step, peer challenge, and the memo

🧭 Plot Summary

"Use AI for this" isn't a plan. A real task has steps, and AI fits some of them and not others. In 2.2.2 you planned with AI, and in 2.2.3 you saw what happens when it acts on your behalf. Now you decide, for a task of your own, who does each step.

You pick one real task, break it into steps, and ask five questions of each one: can I check it, can it be undone, does it need my judgment, is it private, is it routine? The answers suggest a lane. You choose, test the step you trust least, take a partner's challenge, and write a memo that defends your split.

What you'll do in this project

  • Choose one real task you will actually do and clear it against the rule that applies to you.
  • Break it into 5 to 8 steps and run each through the five-question Split Test.
  • Pick a lane for every step: you only, AI drafts, AI with your review, or AI on its own with a log.
  • Test the AI step you trust least, with criteria written first, and let the result move the step if it should.
  • Trade with a partner who challenges one step, and reply with evidence.
  • Write the Tool Decision Memo: the split, the evidence, the strongest objection, and the limits.

Ground rules

  • Check the rule first (2.1.3). If your task isn't allowed, choose a different one.
  • Private details never go in a prompt, and steps that need them stay with you. Health or safety steps need a person to verify against a trusted source.
  • Test an AI step in an approved tool only. An agent can be recommended in your memo, but only tested in the Sandbox (2.2.3).

Why it matters

Sooner or later someone will ask you why you used AI for one part of a job and not another. A split you can defend with answers and a test is a skill for school and for work.

✅ Self-Check Before You Share

Check off each item as you get there. These aren't grades. They're your own signal.