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- 🥚The 'Egg Theory' of Keeping Humans in the Loop With AI Agents
🥚The 'Egg Theory' of Keeping Humans in the Loop With AI Agents
Plus new from TikTok, Apple and Iyo
Jo Lambadjieva
June 05, 2024
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The 'Egg Theory' of Keeping Humans in the Loop With AI Agents
As AI agents become more capable of handling complex workflows, there's a risk of entirely removing the human from processes like booking travel or paying invoices. But fully automated AI risks making people feel disconnected and out of control.
The "egg theory" from consumer psychology suggests AI products need to find ways to keep users involved, even if just for an illusion of control. The theory stems from the poor initial sales of instant cake mixes because they were too easy - until brands required adding an egg, giving bakers a sense of contribution.
This mimics the "IKEA effect" where people place more value on products they had a hand in creating. For AI agents to be adopted, they can't completely obfuscate the human.
Consider a travel booking agent that surfaces three flight options to choose from, rather than autonomously booking the "best" flight based on user data and preferences. The latter may optimize for efficiency, but the former retains user involvement.
For an accounts payable agent, the ideal flow allows the AI to handle laborious invoice details while still requiring human approval before executing payouts. This gives comfort and makes the business owner feel they haven't neglected an important responsibility.
The most successful AI agents will likely be those branded as "copilots" – assisting humans rather than operating autonomously. Their products will find the right balance of augmenting workflows while keeping users in the loop at key moments.
As AI capabilities expand, there will be temptation to "wow" by demonstrating the full extent of automation. But the "egg theory" cautions this could backfire. Transitioning from human-led to software-led work processes requires embedding human checkpoints.
The friction of seeking approvals or input may seem counterintuitive, but it aligns with user psychology. Early AI products should act as bridges allowing a gradual adjustment to software-powered work, not overhaul processes in a jarring way.
Prudent AI builders will make change feel incremental by injecting human controllers and moments of familiarity. The companies rendering humans obsolete may wow in demos, but are likely to fail in the marketplace longer-term.
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The Tools List:
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