What is Human In The Loop?
Human In The Loop is a design pattern in which a person reviews, approves, corrects, or can stop selected machine-generated outputs or actions. Meaningful oversight requires more than a nominal approval step: the reviewer needs sufficient context, time, authority, and a practical way to intervene. NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework places human oversight within broader AI risk-management and governance activities. It differs from human-on-the-loop monitoring and human-out-of-the-loop automation.
What is Human In The Loop used for?
Organizations use Human In The Loop for consequential decisions and privileged actions, such as approving an AI-assisted workflow or a tool call. A workable design defines who can intervene, what evidence they receive, when escalation applies, and how decisions are recorded. It complements technical controls and monitoring; it does not transfer system accountability to an individual reviewer.
