Delivery AI should earn its authority one segment at a time

Salman Habib, co-founder of Burq, believes artificial intelligence vendors are demanding too much authority from retailers right from the start. Habib argues that many retailers are hesitant to adopt AI due to this high initial demand. Burq's software tackles the last-mile delivery challenge, deciding how each order is transported among the retailer's fleet, gig providers, parcel carriers, LTL carriers, and drones. The AI's role is crucial as a mistake in delivery can anger customers and harm the retailer's reputation.

In a new doctrine published in October, Habib and cofounder Shaban Habib propose that AI should start with no authority and earn it gradually through live orders, with each decision being signed off by a person. This approach, called "earned autonomy," addresses the push retailers face for immediate AI integration. The doctrine is broken down into four authority levels: Manual, Shadow, Review, and Autonomous.

Each level is tailored to specific delivery modes, ensuring trust is earned independently for parcel, LTL, gig, and drone deliveries.

Habib emphasizes that AI should not be perceived as always having a human overseer, but rather as an intermediate stage in the decision-making process. The retailer sets the criteria for each promotion, such as requiring dispatchers to agree with the AI's choices 90% of the time before full autonomy is granted. Burq also avoids the term "human in the loop" and instead emphasizes that the human role is a critical part of the process.

One key feature of Burq's approach is the Decision Ledger, which records every decision made by the AI, including who made the decision, what information was considered, the choice made, and the outcome. This ledger can be exported as a CSV file, providing transparency and accountability. Habib highlights Burq's Shadow mode as an ideal starting point for retailers, allowing them to use the AI without affecting their operations.

The AI silently analyzes the retailer's dispatchers' work, providing a report on how it would have made different decisions.

While Burq is currently focusing on last-mile delivery, the company's doctrine is designed to be applicable to any form of order delivery, including gig, parcel, LTL, and drone services. Customers will have the option to either keep their data within their organization or benefit from anonymized performance data shared across the network. As Burq gains trust, it plans to expand its scope beyond last-mile delivery.