Most practitioners now use AI somewhere in their practice, but few have stopped to ask where their clients' data goes, who is training on it, or what their software subscriptions are funding. In this HPI team episode, Dr Cliff Harvey, Luke Gabites and Choong Kwan talk honestly about the ethics of the tech we buy, how they each use AI with clients, and the mistakes they see colleagues making.

In this episode we cover

• Why the rise of AI pushed tech ethics onto practitioners' radar
• "We are the product": what free tools really cost
• Where client data actually goes in apps, AI tools and cloud workspaces
• De-identification and other practical privacy safeguards for AI use
• How Cliff uses AI for differential assessment and peer review, without handing over his clinical reasoning
• Hallucinated studies, people-pleasing answers and built-in bias
• How HPI audited its suppliers and moved to a more ethical tech stack (and saved money doing it)
• Progress over perfection: building your own ethos for business decisions

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:22 How AI put tech ethics on the radar

03:15 "We are the product": free tools and advertising

05:19 Client data in a world of vibe-coded apps

08:37 Privacy law, de-identification and where your data lives

11:43 Jurisdiction, subpoenas and European alternatives

13:45 HPI's procurement policy and why it started

16:06 Practitioners using free AI tools

17:59 AI as an extension of your brain

19:33 Data breaches and simple de-identification habits

23:00 AI makes good practitioners better and bad practitioners worse

28:06 If you build AI to replace you, it can

28:59 Hallucinations: invented studies and bad instructions

31:26 AI wants to please you: why you still need to study

33:41 How LLMs actually work, and their biases

36:28 Training data, IP and copyright

37:15 HPI's supplier audit and new tech stack

41:58 Progress over perfection

43:46 Finding your ethos and your big why

45:54 The Practitioner's Roadmap

About the hosts

Dr Cliff Harvey is a clinical nutritionist, researcher and founder of the Holistic Performance Institute: https://www.holisticperformance.institute/

Luke Gabites is a Registered Clinical Nutritionist and Sports Nutritionist at Planted Nutrition in Auckland.

Choong Kwan is a Registered Clinical Nutritionist, sports nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach based in Auckland. He helps time-poor parents and high performers build strong, healthy bodies without letting training and nutrition take over their lives. Find him at https://www.iamchoong.com/

Links mentioned in this episode

• NZ Privacy Commissioner guidance on AI: https://www.privacy.org.nz/resources-and-learning/a-z-topics/ai/
• OpenAI data controls (turning off model training): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7730893-data-controls-faq
• ManageMyHealth breach inquiry (1News): https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/05/27/managemyhealth-warned-before-massive-data-breach-inquiry/
• HPI Vision for Equity (ethics and diversity policy): https://www.holisticperformance.institute/pages/ethics-and-diversity
• HPI's list of ethical providers: link coming soon!

Connect with HPI

• Roadmap: https://www.holisticperformance.institute/pages/roadmap
• Podcast page: https://www.holisticperformance.institute/pages/podcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holisticperformancenutrition/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HolisticPerformanceNutrition/
• LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/company/holistic-performance-institute
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@holisticperformance

Thinking about turning this into a career? Download the free Practitioner's Roadmap: what you can and can't do at each level of practice, the three career pathways, what practitioners charge in NZ and Australia, and which registration bodies recognise what. If you found this useful, follow Translating Nutrition and share it with a colleague who uses AI with clients.