Human-in-the-Loop

Some decisions should not be automated, because the stakes are high, because the rules are not yet known, or because a person is accountable for them. Human-in-the-loop design puts a person at a chosen point in the process: to approve an action, to correct a draft, to resolve an ambiguity, or to take over entirely.

The design question is not whether to include people but when the agent should ask rather than proceed. Ask too often and you have built a slow form. Ask too rarely and you have built a liability. The answer is usually different for different steps, and it should change as trust is earned or lost.