Notebook Check uses AI to detect possible issues in any Notebook entry. For example, it can detect:
- Adherence to notebook guidelines, such as issues with formatting and naming conventions
- Incomplete notebook entries, such as entries with missing data attachments
- Possible mistakes, such as inconsistencies and unusual numerical values
The feature is available both when authoring and when reviewing an entry.
This is a Benchling AI feature. See the AI at Benchling page for information on how to enable this and other AI-based features.
Use Notebook Check
In any Notebook entry, to start using the feature, open the Review tab. There are three ways to do this:
- In the AI tools menu in the toolbar, select Check entry
- In the information panel on the right-hand side, select Check entry
- Click on the Review tab directly. You may also wish to Split workspace and rearrange the tabs as desired
After spending a few seconds to check your entry, the system produces a list of possible concerns above the review history:
The checks are performed as soon as you open the Review tab for the first time, and can be re-run manually by clicking the re-check icon. They are purely informational, are not saved, and are not stored as part of the review.
Note: Notebook Check will give better results if it has been pre-configured with notebook guidelines. See the configuration section below for details.
Recommended workflows for entry author
As you work on your entry, consider running the check, viewing results, and re-running the check as necessary. When you run the report:
- For each actionable result, click the checkbox to mark it as completed. This is not saved, but may be useful to keep track of which items have been addressed
- After you make significant changes to the entry, re-run the checks and review them again
If a result was particularly useful or not useful, consider clicking the thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons to give feedback to the Benchling team.
Recommended workflow for entry reviewer
- When reviewing an entry, open the Review tab to view the check results. Note that these may not exactly match the check results that the author may have seen
- Consider each check result as part of your review
Risks from AI mistakes
While all AI-based systems may make mistakes, Benchling’s Notebook Check feature is designed to reduce the risk from AI mistakes, since all results are purely informational and do not modify the contents of your entry. Still, be aware of the following risks:
- The system may produce false positives, which may be misleading. Always treat results with appropriate skepticism, and double-check any concerns before updating your entry
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The system may overlook legitimate errors in your entry. It is intended to be an additional check rather than a substitute for human review
Limitations
- The AI system is not guaranteed to give the same results when used multiple times, even when run on exactly the same notebook entry with the same guidelines. For example, this means that the entry author and reviewer may see slightly different check results
- The custom guidelines can only be configured once for the entire Benchling tenant, and cannot be configured more specifically for templates, teams, etc
- The AI system only has access to the current notebook entry and the configured guidelines; it does not have access to any other system configuration
- The AI system does not have access to previous results or information about the use of any other AI-based features in Benchling
- Not all details of the notebook entry are visible to the AI system. For example, attachment contents are not considered, linked items are not followed, and some font styles and colors are ignored
- The results from Notebook Check are not saved
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Notebook Check may only be run on one entry at a time, not in bulk or in an automated fashion
Security and privacy
For more information about privacy and security for AI-powered features, see Data protection and security for AI at Benchling.