Shaping Human–AI Interaction
An exploration of how values, ethics, and ethos can shape human-AI interaction
Authors: Alec Fearon in collaboration with ChatGPT, Perplexity and NotebookLM
It is being written in the form of an evolving, long-form essay, the first item in what might become Anapoly’s “digital garden” (see Maggie Appleton’s excellent explanation of this concept).
Started 9 August 2025, last updated 9 August 2025
Background
On 7 August 2025, Anapoly ran a trial “Acclimatisation Lab“. One of the participants was G, a member of staff from Marjon University. He was impressed by Anapoly’s approach to the use of AI and, in later discussion, suggested the possibility of a collaboration with the university. After exploring some of the options for this, the conversation became a bit philosophical. It touched on the ethics of AI, the risk that students might outsource their thinking, the need to imbue students with values of benefit to society, and the need for them to have an ethos of caring about how the human-AI relationship evolves. This prompted Alec and G to begin thinking about the possibility of basing the collaboration on a project to explore these issues in more detail. Hence this essay.
Purpose
Source: Chat with ChatGPT
Goal
To propose how an educational establishment can inculcate the values, ethics, and ethos needed to shape responsible use of AI.
Outcomes
Academic output – A credible, well-researched essay proposing a framework for guiding human–AI interaction.
Applied learning – A live, documented example of using AI in a real intellectual task, showing good practice in configuration, transparency, and collaboration.
Approach
Peer to peer working
Collaboration with AI.
How Values, Ethics, Ethos, and Culture Connect
Source: Chat with Perplexity
At the foundation are values — the beliefs and principles about what is important, desirable, or right. They answer the question: What matters most to us? Values may be personal (honesty, curiosity), organisational (innovation, accountability), or societal (justice, equality). They are the moral “raw material” from which everything else flows.
Culture is the lived environment shaped by shared history, relationships, language, and traditions. It is how people actually live and work together over time. Culture naturally expresses shared values but also shapes them — reinforcing some, downplaying others. It develops whether or not there is any formal ethical guidance. When culture comes first, it carries implicit norms — unwritten but widely understood expectations of behaviour. These can act like an informal ethical framework, but they are not always coherent, inclusive, or consciously examined.
Ethics is where values become explicit, systematic guidance for behaviour. An ethical framework takes values (and sometimes external influences like laws and professional standards) and turns them into principles, rules, or reasoning methods. Ethics asks: Given our values, how should we act, and why? Formal ethics codifies expectations; informal ethics may be embedded in culture without being written down.
Ethos refers to the characteristic spirit or “feel” of a group — the lived expression of values within a culture. While ethics defines the rules and reasoning, ethos captures the atmosphere and collective character that emerges when values are embodied in daily life. Ethos is tangible in tone, traditions, and shared habits: e.g., a research lab where “integrity and curiosity” aren’t just rules, but felt in how people question, listen, and share.
Putting it together:
- Values are the starting point — our moral compass.
- Ethics is a reasoned map that guides how we apply those values in real situations.
- Culture is the social terrain where these values and ethics live, evolve, and sometimes clash.
- Ethos is the vibe or spirit of that culture when values are actively lived out.