# Values-Conflict Worksheet

Use with [Use AI to Clarify Values Without Asking It What You Should Value](/articles/clarify-values-not-outsource-values).

Not for crisis decisions, decisions made under coercion, or regulated decisions with legal or
professional requirements attached.

## Step 1: Name your values, unaided

Before opening any AI tool, write 3-5 values relevant to this decision, in your own words:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

## Step 2: Describe the decision you are leaning toward

## Step 3: Test consistency with AI

Prompt template:

```text
I am trying to decide between [option A] and [option B]. Here is what
I've told myself matters to me: [your list from Step 1]. Before giving
me any recommendation, do two things: first, name the specific values
in tension in this decision. Second, ask me which of those specific
values I would protect first if I truly had to choose only one, and
wait for my answer before saying anything else.
```

## Step 4: Name the conflict plainly

The two values actually in tension here are:

- ____________________ vs. ____________________

## Step 5: Weigh it yourself

Which value am I choosing to weight more heavily this time, and why?

## Step 6: Document and say it out loud

- Date: ____________________
- My decision and reasoning: ____________________
- Person I said this out loud to before acting: ____________________

## What AI can and cannot do here

| AI can | AI cannot |
| --- | --- |
| Help you name a value you hadn't articulated | Supply the value itself |
| Point out where your leaning doesn't match your stated values | Tell you which of two genuine values should win |
| State the tension plainly | Take any responsibility for the choice |
| Help format your documentation | Replace saying the decision out loud to a person who knows you |