When AI Acts, Accountability Must Follow

AI making a recommendation is one thing.

AI taking action is different.

An agent might:

Update a record.

Trigger a workflow.

Call an API.

Approve a transaction.

Escalate a case.

The question changes from:

Can AI do this?

to:

Who owns the outcome?

Before giving an AI agent authority, define:

Who owns the decision?

What is the agent allowed to do?

Where does human judgement apply?

Who can override it?

What triggers escalation?

Can the action be reversed?

What evidence is retained?

If the answers are unclear, the problem is not the agent.

The operating model is not ready.

When autonomy increases, accountability needs to become clearer, not less.