Model vs. User: Whose Values Prevail? Inference-Time Value Alignment in Multi-Turn Conversations

Enrico Liscio, Anne Arzberger, Aditya Shankar, Pradeep K. Murukannaiah

Human values shape how we expect language models to behave. Dominant alignment approaches treat values as global objectives, although the appropriate value orientation is personal and contextual. Training-free alignment can steer models toward target values at inference time, yet has been largely evaluated in single-turn settings and with a single steering direction (e.g., toward safety). We evaluate four prompt- and activation-based steering methods in multi-turn conversations, where user and assistant models push toward the same or opposing, equally desirable values. We track alignment with a linear probe across three models and two value trade-offs. When assistant and user pull in opposite directions, the side matching the assistant's baseline bias often prevails, and effects that look successful early often fade or reverse after a few turns. Steering should therefore be evaluated over full conversations and in both directions of a value trade-off.