Harry Potter and the parable of the talents

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

There’s a scene I love in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have made diligent plans to break into the Ministry of Magic to steal an object that will help them save the wizarding world. Harry proposes they execute the plan. But Hermione says, “I don't know, Harry…There are an awful lot of things that could go wrong.” To which Harry replies, “That'll be true even if we spend another three months preparing…It's time to act.”

I’ve always been more of a Harry. But since the latest generation of AI tools entered my work, I’m tempted to be more of a Hermione. Why? Because AI offers an endless stream of feedback that, if I’m not careful, can lead me to trade my bias for action for a bias for overthinking.

For example, years ago I started feeding drafts of these devotionals to an AI chat app for feedback. But eventually I wasn’t asking one app for notes, but three. After missing a self-imposed deadline for the first time in ages, I realized how absurd my practice had become.

AI was leading me to well planned but not the “well done” the servants long to hear in Jesus’s parable of the talents. The five and two talent servants weren’t celebrated because of their masterful planning. They were invited to enjoy the master’s happiness because they put those plans to work (see Matthew 25:14-30).

In this series, I’ve been laying down five biblical guardrails for working with AI. Here’s Guardrail #4: Don’t let AI lead you to well planned instead of well done.

Here are three practical ways my friends and I are heeding this guardrail.

#1: Use one AI tool per task. Not two or three. I use different tools for different tasks, but only one per task to prevent overthinking.

#2: Limit yourself to a set number of follow-up questions per prompt. I’ve talked to many Christian professionals who find themselves wasting a lot of time in AI chat apps because of how easy (and enjoyable) it can be to ask question after question. One of my friends has limited himself to three follow-up questions per chat to ensure he quickly gets back to “well done.”

#3: Share self-imposed deadlines with others. It’s hard to overthink a work product when a deadline is imposed by a boss or client. It’s when a deadline is self-imposed that we tend to overthink. So, if you have a self-imposed deadline, share it with a friend for accountability.

Pastor Mark Batterson says that “delayed obedience disguised as prudence is disobedience.” Don’t let AI lull you into that trap. Use it for well done and not just well planned today.