Episode 2: Using AI Without Losing Your Values
Labor in the Loop
Episode 2 — Using AI Without Losing Your Values
Content note: This episode is rated NSFKM. Not safe for Karen's mom (or yours). We also talk about Grok's little "MechaHitler" phase, so, you know, buckle up.
About This Episode
We're back with wine (or in Karen's case, wine with a floating gnat friend, RIP) and a real question: how do you actually use AI without betraying your own values? Karen breaks down where generative AI came from, what "vibe coding" means, and the framework she uses to figure out which of her values are actually in conflict when a new AI use case comes up. Britt brings two real workplace stories to the table — one where leadership wanted to bulk-upload candidate resumes into ChatGPT with zero consent, and one where a company built an internal AI tool the right way. We also get into why "human in the loop" is where this whole podcast got its name.
What We Cover
Backpacking prep, book club hosting, and the case for boxed wine on the trail
How we already use AI in our regular lives, from candidate emails to eyeshadow-on-carpet emergencies
A very fast history of generative AI, from 1945 neural networks to the 2022 explosion everyone actually noticed
What "vibe coding" means and how it's different from the coding Karen actually gets paid to do
Karen's 13-values framework for figuring out what's really bothering you about a given AI use case
Why Karen avoids Grok (data privacy issues, and yes, the "MechaHitler" thing)
AI and art: the real difference between commercial art risk and fine art, and three ways to respond when your values are in conflict (refuse, wait and prepare, or compensate)
The sustainability angle nobody talks about, and why video calls eat more data center resources than most AI use
Britt's two wildly different experiences with how companies have implemented AI in HR
The real story behind a resume-screening tool that learned to flag "Boy Scouts" and downgrade "Girl Scouts" — and why testing for bias isn't optional
Where "human in the loop" — and the podcast name — actually comes from
Time Stamps
00:00 — Cold open: wine check-in and backpacking prep for a friend's Catalina birthday trip
06:53 — Book club hosting, Trader Joe's run, and apartment smell hacks
08:31 — How we already use AI day-to-day
18:08 — A brief history of generative AI
22:16 — What "vibe coding" actually means
26:29 — Britt asks Karen point-blank: how do you stay ethical using AI?
27:02 — Karen's 13-values framework and why economic disruption worries her most
34:19 — Choosing an LLM ethically, and the real cost of switching
36:14 — Why Karen avoids Grok
41:03 — Personal values vs. organizational values, in more depth
43:05 — AI and image generation: job security, authenticity, and IP as separate values
47:22 — Commercial art vs. fine art
50:53 — Three ways to respond to a values conflict: refuse, wait, or compensate
52:22 — The sustainability angle — LLMs vs. flights vs. video calls
54:27 — Britt's two wildly different workplace AI experiences
56:54 — Sandboxing, data privacy, and why in-house AI still isn't automatically bias-free
58:16 — The resume-classifier bias story
1:02:47 — How Britt uses AI for resume screening responsibly
1:03:38 — Where "human in the loop" — and the podcast name — comes from
1:05:13 — Wrap and break
About Your Hosts
Brittany (Britt) is a certified HR professional based in Boise, Idaho with four years of experience spanning HR generalist work, talent acquisition, and fractional HR consulting through her own practice, Lumi HR LLC. She got into HR the long way, through customer service, restaurants, sales, administration, and a lot of figuring it out as she went. That path is exactly why she cares so much about the people side of work.
Karen Boyd is a values and technology researcher and director of research at a think tank in Southern California. She holds an MBA from the University of California, San Diego and a PhD from the University of Maryland's School of Information, where she studied AI ethics and the future of work. She is, by her own admission, better at studying people than working with them.
Connect With Us
Britt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyhumphreys
Karen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkarenboyd/
Lumi HR LLC:https://www.instagram.com/lumihrllc/
Karen’s author account: https://www.instagram.com/karenboydauthor/
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Labor in the Loop is part career strategy, part tech deep dive, part therapy session between two friends who study work for a living.