Human in the Loop: AI Complements, Humans Lead

As published by Grit Daily

Given all the hype we’ve heard about AI in the last couple of years, it might seem crazy or even disappointing, but the option to ALWAYS have a human touchpoint should be available. The successful AI implementation is not the one which prevents the user from human interaction, but where they are satisfied to voluntarily choose the AI route exclusively. While AI such as GPT and Claude are inspired by neural networks, they are far less complex than the human brain. The brain integrates multimodal, emotional, and experiential data, enabling it to adapt dynamically and make intuitive leaps. LLMs, by contrast, are pattern recognition systems optimized for generating language based on statistical relationships in data (i.e. they are not good listeners).

Most AI is not even guessing, but rather programmatically going through the motions based on an input or a prompt. A business can feed them every ounce of information available, but they still have zero understanding. Instead, they convey a perception of understanding, being the ultimate tin-eared companion. There is, therefore, increasing recognition that your AI assistant may always need assistance itself.

IBM even believes that Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) interaction is going to be one of the major trends of 2025. HITL can apply to all administrative fields, both internal and external. Externally, your business does not want a self-imposed disconnect from its audience, be it minor queries from prospects, managing order fulfillment or customer service. Internally, the role of experts will remain key.

It’s good to use AI to “deflect” certain queries away from your expert colleagues, lighten their processing load and speed up their reporting, for example. However, they are still the experts and the real brains of your operation. The knowledge base(s) to which your AI has access must be as well-organized and extensive as possible. Otherwise, there’s little structure with which the AI can get to grips.

Likewise, the journey that your AI takes its users on should be rigorously planned, taking into account corner cases and exception handling. Balance is a delicate notion. As this Stanford paper highlights, total automation probably shouldn’t be your “endgame.” The last thing your business wants is a sense of disconnect at the heart of its operation.

Author: Niall McCarthy, CEO, Aire and Planet Crust

 

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