Govern AI agents like workers. Just don’t pretend they’re human
The newest member of the corporate workforce never sleeps, never asks for a raise, and can be cloned before lunch. It can also confidently make the wrong decision thousands of times before anyone notices. That helps explain why some technology leaders have started talking about AI agents as employees, co-workers, or interns rather than software. Once an agent can update records, issue refunds,…
AI agents are increasingly being treated as employees or co-workers within organizations. However, this metaphor may lead to a misplaced sense of responsibility. While AI agents can perform tasks without sleep or breaks and can make mistakes, they lack the understanding and accountability that humans possess. Technology leaders have started framing AI agents in human-like terms, but this can lead to a false sense of accountability.
Instead, organizations should focus on giving agents a defined technical identity and clear oversight, while still holding humans responsible for the actions of the agents. This approach allows for the use of employee management practices, such as audit trails, permissions, and kill switches, while minimizing the risk of ceding too much responsibility to the AI itself.
Written by urgent.news from Computerworld's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
