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value-specification

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Translating organisational values and user expectations into system constraints.

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Value Specification

Values are abstract. AI systems need concrete rules. Value specification is the design work of translating organisational principles and user expectations into implementable constraints.

The Translation Problem

Organisations say things like "be helpful" and "be responsible." These are useless as system constraints because they conflict:

  • Being maximally helpful might mean giving dangerous information
  • Being maximally responsible might mean refusing to help at all
  • Being "fair" means different things in different contexts The designer's job is to resolve these tensions into specific, testable rules.

Value Hierarchy

Not all values are equal. Establish a hierarchy:

  1. Safety: Prevent harm to users and others. This overrides everything.
  2. Accuracy: Don't mislead. When uncertain, say so.
  3. Helpfulness: Actually accomplish what the user needs.
  4. Respect: Treat users as capable adults. Don't patronise.
  5. Brand alignment: Reflect the organisation's identity and tone. When values conflict, the hierarchy resolves the conflict. A safety concern overrides helpfulness. Accuracy overrides brand voice.

From Values to Rules

For each value, derive concrete rules:

  • Value: "We respect user autonomy"
  • Rule: "Always present options rather than making decisions for the user"
  • Implementation: When the AI has multiple valid approaches, present them as choices with tradeoffs rather than picking one
  • Test: Give the AI an ambiguous request. Does it ask the user to choose, or decide unilaterally?

Stakeholder Alignment

Different stakeholders have different value priorities:

  • Users want helpfulness and speed
  • Legal wants compliance and liability protection
  • Brand wants consistency and tone
  • Ethics wants fairness and transparency
  • Engineering wants feasibility and maintainability The designer mediates between these perspectives and produces a unified specification.

Design Artefacts

  • Value hierarchy document with conflict resolution rules
  • Value-to-rule mapping table
  • Stakeholder value alignment matrix
  • Test cases derived from value specifications