This experiential exercise presents a two-part activity in which students practice and critically reflect on using artificial intelligence (AI) to aid decision making. In the first part, students develop their own criteria and decision matrix to evaluate a large pool of hypothetical job candidates and determine a short list of finalists to be interviewed—a task intentionally designed to be impossible to complete in the time allotted. In the second part, they use AI tools to aid them in the same task. In an extended debriefing, students evaluate AI’s decisions and reflect on their experience using AI for this purpose. The activity is designed to improve students’ AI literacy by giving them guided practice using AI for business purposes and bolstering their understanding of both positive and negative implications of AI-aided decision making.
BankinsS.FormosaP.GriepY.RichardsD. (2022). AI decision making with dignity? Contrasting workers’ justice perceptions of human and AI decision making in a human resource management context. Information Systems Frontiers, 24, 857–875. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-021-10223-8
2.
KinickiA.SoignetD. B.HartnellC. (2024). Management: A practical introduction (Evergreen ed.). McGraw-Hill.
3.
LarsonB. Z.MoserC.CazaA.MuehlfeldK.ColomboL. A. (2024). Critical thinking in the age of generative AI. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 23, 373–378. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2024.0338
MayerA. S.StrichF.FiedlerM. (2020). Unintended consequences of introducing AI systems for decision making. MIS Quarterly Executive, 19, 239–257. https://doi.org/10.17705/2msqe.00036
RodgersW.MurrayJ. M.StefanidisA.DegbeyW. Y.TarbaS. Y. (2023). An artificial intelligence algorithmic approach to ethical decision-making in human resource management processes. Human Resource Management Review, 33, 100925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2022.100925
10.
ShresthaY. R.Ben-MenahemS. M.von KroghG. (2019). Organizational decision-making structures in the age of artificial intelligence. California Management Review, 61(4), 66–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125619862257
11.
WilsonH. J.DaughertyP. R. (2024). Embracing Gen AI at work. Harvard Business Review, 102(5), 151–155.
12.
XuC.XuH.SunY.XiongW. (2024). The digital siren’s call: Accepting unethical AI advice. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 41, 7746–7762. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2400396
13.
AkbenM.MercadoB.McSweeneyJ. (2025). Bringing historical management theories to life: An experiential exercise using generative AI. Management Teaching Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23792981241304632
14.
FirthD.DerendingerM.TricheJ. (2024). Cheating better with ChatGPT: A framework for teaching students when to use ChatGPT and other generative AI bots. Information Systems Education Journal, 22(3), 47–60. https://doi.org/10.62273/BZSU7160
15.
FirthD.TricheJ. (2024). Generative AI in practice: A teaching case in the introduction to management information systems class. Information Systems Education Journal, 22(4), 29–47. https://doi.org/10.62273/LDVL8354
16.
MollickE. R.MollickL. (2024). Instructors as innovators: A future-focused approach to new AI learning opportunities, with prompts. Wharton School Research Paper. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4802463
17.
SunR.DengX. (2025). Using generative AI to enhance experiential learning: An exploratory study of ChatGPT use by university students. Journal of Information Systems Education, 36, 53–64. https://doi.org/10.62273/ZLUM4022
18.
WalkerD. O. H.LarsonM. (2024). Leveraging generative artificial intelligence (AI) for human resource management: The AI job description assignment. Journal of Management Education, 49, 113–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/10525629241294075
