Articulate your values before asking AI for values-related…

When This Fires

• Before asking AI for advice on career decisions, relationship choices, ethical dilemmas, or life direction
• When the decision involves trade-offs between values rather than pure optimization
• When you notice AI recommendations that feel reasonable but don't quite fit your priorities
• Complements Apply the defense test to AI conclusions (AI defense test) and AI generates inputs, you synthesize judgment — outsourcing… (input/judgment separation) for values specifically

Common Failure Mode

Asking AI for values conclusions: "Should I take the risky job or the stable one?" The AI produces a balanced analysis that implicitly favors safety and conventionality (common training biases). You accept it because it sounds reasonable — without realizing it deprioritized your value of creative risk-taking that would have produced a different answer.

The Protocol

(1) Before engaging AI on a values-laden decision, write your relevant values and their hierarchy for this specific decision. (2) Prompt the AI with your values as the framework: "Given that I prioritize [value A] over [value B], analyze the trade-offs between [options]." (3) Use AI to generate arguments for each option through the lens of your stated values — not to recommend which option to choose. (4) Synthesize the arguments yourself (AI generates inputs, you synthesize judgment — outsourcing…), applying your judgment to weigh them within your values framework. (5) The AI's role is analytical amplification; the values are yours. If the AI's recommendation contradicts your hierarchy → your hierarchy wins (Three filters for AI contradictions, filter 3).