Axios AI+

Here are three ways of thinking about what “humans in the loop” can mean.

1. AI assists humans

Chatbots need us to prompt them or give them instructions in order to work. Agents are also assistants, but they require less supervision from humans.

• As agents’ abilities grow, keeping humans in the loop ensures “that AI systems make decisions that align with human judgment, ethics, and goals,” Fay Kallel, VP of product and design at Intuit Mailchimp, told Axios in an email.
• “By automating tedious tasks, we create space for creative and strategic work,” Kelly Moran, VP of engineering, search and AI at Slack, told Axios.
• “Humans aren’t always rowing the boat — but we’re very much steering the ship,” Paula Goldman, chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce, wrote last year.