Knowing When Human Oversight Is Necessary

“Keep a human in the loop” sounds reassuring, but the presence of a person does not guarantee meaningful oversight. A reviewer can investigate an AI recommendation, compare it with other evidence, and stop a harmful outcome—or simply glance at it and click approve. Both workflows include a human. Only one preserves human judgment.

As AI moves from generating information to taking actions across workplace systems, we need to ask a more useful question: What must the human be able to see, understand, decide, and stop?