Keeping humans “in the loop” is often just a placebo for accountability, a way to pretend we’re still in control when machines are doing all the heavy lifting. Let’s be real: most of the time, it’s nothing more than a charade. Take, for instance, the recent wave of “human-in-the-loop” AI systems that claim to need your input for critical decisions. In reality, these systems are designed to nudge you toward the choices they’ve already made. It’s like being asked to sign off on a meal your personal chef has already cooked—sure, you can send it back, but do you really want to?

Here’s when it does work: when the stakes are high and the consequences are real. Think medical diagnoses or legal verdicts. In these cases, a human’s nuanced understanding and ethical judgment can be the difference between a life saved or lost, a verdict fair or biased. But for the mundane, the routine, the everyday? It’s just theater. We’re rubber-stamping decisions made by algorithms, pretending we’re still the captains of our fate.

If you want to keep humans in the loop, make it meaningful—or cut the pretense.