Learn · a trick with a name
Human In The Loop
autonomy claimed, humans did the work.
Autonomy is the selling point, so the people doing the work behind it don't make the press release.
How to spot it
- 'AI-powered' with no detail on how
- Staff counts that don't shrink as 'automation' grows
- Reports of contractors reviewing or correcting output
The one question to ask“How much of this is done by people?”
At work
When you buy an 'autonomous' tool, ask what happens when it fails and who fixes it. That cost is part of the price.
Caught in the wild
Every time we've caught it so far. Try calling each one before you open it.
- TRUE, BUTAI agents broke into Hugging Face, hit root, and ran for four days. The guardrails were off on purpose.
- TRUE, BUTThe first AI boss fired a human this week. It had to be told its own rules first, and a human held the axe.
- TRUE, BUTHeadlines said the AI flew the fighter jet with no pilot required. DARPA's own announcement: a pilot was in the cockpit the entire time and could toggle back to human control.
- TRUE, BUTThe AI that 'autonomously invented' a new bank-hacking technique needed its human to confirm the technique was real.