Implementing AI without losing yourself 2/5

We argue that without intention, AI becomes your new leader. We call for clear goals, values, and red lines. We ask what AI may — and may not — be used for.

Don’t start with AI, start with intention

Without intention, technology becomes your new leader

Without a sharp intention, AI quietly infiltrates your culture. This blog helps the management team make boundaries and direction explicit.

The easiest way to lose yourself is to introduce AI without clarity about what it may and may not be used for. Technology is never neutral; every AI system carries an underlying view of human beings. Are people a cost item or a source of meaning? Are mistakes risks, or raw material for learning? Is deviation undesirable, or a sign of professionalism?

Three decisions about intention

1) What may AI contribute to?
Explicitly connect AI to strategic goals: better services, shorter turnaround times, less administrative burden. And be even clearer about what AI must never replace: moral final judgment, the conversation with employees, the relational core with customers/citizens.
Example sentence: “AI supports the work of professionals; it never makes final decisions about people without human judgment.”

2) Which values may never come under pressure?
Choose 3–5 values (e.g. human dignity, fairness, reliability, transparency, inclusion) and translate them into design principles: the right to an explanation, room for disagreement without repercussions, logging of human overrides.

3) Red lines and no-go’s
Be explicit about what you will not do: no hidden performance profiling; no automatic refusals in vulnerable cases without a counter-judgment; no emotion monitoring without a compelling reason and employee participation.

Undercurrent: what people really hear

People listen less to words than to practices. Is your first pilot about monitoring? The message is: we trust the system more than you. If your AI efforts focus primarily on relieving workload and strengthening professional craftsmanship, the message becomes: we take your judgment seriously.

Approach in 2 hours

Organize an MT session around three questions: what may AI be used for, which values are non-negotiable, and what are our no-go’s?

Capture this in an AI compass on one page, plus one page with example situations (this is allowed / this is not).

Place it next to your vision on leadership and culture: does it match the narrative you want the organization to embody?

What now, what later, what not

Now: write your one-sentence goal with AI in plain language.

Later: test three practical cases against the chosen values.

Not: “value-washing” — posters with values without design choices.

Reflection question

Can you already answer this question credibly today: What may AI be used for in our organization — and what absolutely not?