Chapter 02 / Lesson 1 · The question
An answer can sound convincing and still lead you away from what matters to you. Name your values, examine a difficult choice, and decide which decisions you will keep human.
Video · 2:21Activity time is additionalStudent courseYour next moves
Your activity / Right here
The activity is included on this page. Work on paper or in your own document; keep your first attempt and the evidence you checked.
What would you refuse to do, even if an AI said it was the smart move?
My first answer: ________________________________________________
Made-Up Example.
Here is what Mike did on Thursday night:
1. He asked, "What's the smart move?" and said nothing about what mattered to him.
2. He accepted the chatbot's idea of smart: money and college applications.
3. He broke his promise to Jordan by text, before talking to anyone he trusts.
4. He ignored the bad feeling that followed.
Here is how he took it back on Friday:
5. On paper, he wrote his top three values: loyalty, creativity, and responsibility.
6. He told the chatbot, "I promised my friend, and I love making films." It replied, "You're absolutely right! Keeping your commitments is important." It had switched sides in one message.
7. He realized that an answer that flips the moment you push can't guide you anywhere.
8. He made his own call. He asked his manager for Sunday shifts instead, then texted Jordan: "I'm back in. Saturday, 9 a.m. Bring the tripod."
What went wrong? Talk it through with a partner, then write your answers.
• Which step handed Mike's values to the machine?
• What did the chatbot's quick switch in step 6 tell Mike?
• What could Mike have added to his first prompt to get advice that fit his values?
• Which decision in this story could only Mike make?
No devices. Pen, paper, and 40 small scraps of paper (or one sheet cut into 40 pieces). About 25 minutes.
This sort is adapted from the Personal Values Card Sort by W. R. Miller and colleagues at the University of New Mexico, which is in the public domain. Values marked with + were added or renamed for this book, so the list includes the words from Chapter 1's Values Check.
| Value: what it means | Value: what it means |
|---|---|
| Achievement: to have important accomplishments | Friendship: to have close, supportive friends |
| Adventure: to have new and exciting experiences | Fun: to play and have fun |
| Beauty: to appreciate beauty around me | Generosity: to give what I have to others |
| Caring: to take care of others | Genuineness: to act in a manner that is true to who I am |
| Challenge: to take on difficult tasks and problems | Growth: to keep changing and growing |
| Compassion: to feel and act on concern for others | Health: to be physically well and healthy |
| Contribution: to make a lasting contribution in the world | Honesty: to be honest and truthful |
| Cooperation: to work collaboratively with others | Hope: to maintain a positive and optimistic outlook |
| Courage+: to do what is right even when it is hard | Humility: to be modest and unassuming |
| Creativity: to have new and original ideas | Humor: to see the humorous side of myself and the world |
| Dependability: to be reliable and trustworthy | Inner peace: to experience personal peace |
| Ecology: to live in harmony with the environment | Kindness+: to be kind and helpful to others |
| Excellence+: to do my work as well as I can | Learning+: to learn and contribute valuable knowledge |
| Fairness+: to promote fair and equal treatment for all | Loyalty+: to be loyal and true in relationships |
| Faith+: to live by my faith or spiritual beliefs | Popularity: to be well-liked by many people |
| Fame: to be known and recognized | Purpose: to have meaning and direction in my life |
| Family: to have a happy, loving family | Respect+: to accept and respect those who differ from me |
| Fitness: to be physically fit and strong | Responsibility: to make and carry out responsible decisions |
| Forgiveness: to be forgiving of others | Service: to be of service to others |
| Freedom+: to be self-determined and independent | Wealth: to have plenty of money |
1. Write each value on its own scrap of paper.
2. Sort all 40 into three piles: Very important to me, Important to me, and Not important to me. These pile names come from the original card sort.
3. From the "Very important to me" pile, choose your top 10. If you have fewer than 10, move some up from "Important to me."
4. Cut your 10 down to 5. Then cut your 5 down to 3. This part is supposed to be hard.
5. Rank your final three. For each one, write one sentence that starts "This matters to me because..." and one real moment when you acted on it, or wish you had.
There are no right answers. Nobody grades which values you choose, and Dr. Q will never tell you what to value. Keep your top three handy for the AI Lab.
Pause & reflect
Write one sentence in your notebook. Name what you checked, what you chose, or what you want to explore next.
Read along, pause, or return to an idea. This transcript follows the selected lesson video.
Follow your course or institution's rules. Use an instructor-approved tool that permits your age, and meet any required consent conditions. Keep names, contact details, school records, and other private information out of prompts. Use fictional examples when you can.
Follow the demonstration, pause before each answer, and do the reasoning on paper. Discuss what you would ask, how you would check it, and which decisions would remain yours.
This course uses AI-created characters and synthetic voices. Carla is an AI avatar. They help tell the story; they are not real students sharing testimonials.
Designed for high-school and community-college learners. Choose examples from your classes, work, and everyday life. Keep your completed work in your course portfolio.
