A field guide to AI positions

Human in the loop (HITL)

System design.

Sources are over 18 months old.

Publication dates and source age

Sources counted: 2

Newest dated source: 2024-01-07

Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

Open in the glossary Reading notes · Structured record

Prepared with AI assistance. Not independently fact-checked. Original sources and qualifications are below.

In plain language

Giving people a role in reviewing or deciding an AI-assisted task, with benefits that depend on how the role works. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Explanation based on the linked sources. Claim ID: claim-term-human-in-the-loop-1a5192ba3d7825ca26b24a72. Edition 0.20.0.

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Limits & distinctions

A confirmation button alone does not establish effective oversight. Experiments have found that erroneous system advice can influence a person's judgment even when that person makes the final decision. [2]

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Explanation based on the linked sources. Claim ID: claim-term-human-in-the-loop-09422ce4d5c74cb753a9bb98. Edition 0.20.0.

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A fuller explanation

A person may review a recommendation, correct an output or approve an action. This can combine different strengths, but the reviewer needs enough information, time and authority to disagree. [1] [2]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Explanation based on the linked sources. Claim ID: claim-term-human-in-the-loop-1e4c26398ee834b2e16dc7b8. Edition 0.20.0.

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How it relates to the map

Atlas reading question: can the named reviewer meaningfully change or stop what happens? [2]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Editorial interpretation or qualification. Claim ID: claim-term-human-in-the-loop-25f52a21ad9f2e54a62ed1b2. Edition 0.20.0.

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https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/human-in-the-loop/

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Sources and what we read

  1. 1. App. C: AI Risk Management and Human-AI Interaction

    NIST AI Resource Center · First-hand source · Published 2023 · Material last read 2026-09-15

    Source is over 18 months old.

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2023

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read scope is described in the source note.

    No archive check recorded.

    Read the AI RMF 1.0 appendix on human roles, oversight, bias and differing outcomes of human-AI interaction. It describes both possible complementarity and amplified bias; it is guidance rather than a controlled experiment.

    Source ID: glossary-eval-human-interaction

  2. 2. The impact of AI errors in a human-in-the-loop process

    Ujué Agudo and coauthors / Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications · First-hand source · Published 2024-01-07 · Material last read 2026-09-15

    Source is over 18 months old.

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2024-01-07

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read scope is described in the source note.

    No archive check recorded.

    Read the abstract, study procedures, results and general discussion. Two simulated judicial-decision experiments used purported AI advice; these are not a field trial of an LLM or a universal estimate of human oversight effectiveness.

    Source ID: glossary-eval-human-errors

Edition and machine-readable evidence

Content version 0.20.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.

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