I Want the Final Say
When it really matters, a human should always have the last word.
Your loan application was denied. Your medical treatment was flagged as unnecessary. Your child was rejected from a school program. In each case, the decision was made by an AI — and no human ever reviewed it. No one to appeal to. No one who understands your situation. Just an algorithm that said no.
What This Means
This policy is simple: when a decision can seriously affect your life — your health, your finances, your freedom, your family — a human being must have the final say. AI can analyze, suggest, and recommend, but it should never be the one making the call on things that truly matter. There must always be a real person you can talk to, someone who can override the machine.
A Real-World Scenario
Tom applied for a mortgage to buy his first home. The AI scoring system flagged his application as high-risk because he had changed jobs twice in two years — both times for promotions with higher salaries. A human loan officer would have seen this as a strength, not a risk. But no human ever reviewed the file. It took Tom four months and two appeals before a person finally looked at his case and approved the loan in minutes.
Why It Matters to You
Because algorithms do not understand context the way humans do. They do not know that you just lost a family member when your work performance dropped. They do not know your medical history has a rare exception. You deserve a human who can listen, understand, and make a judgment call.
For the technically inclined
AP-2.1: Human Final Decision
Humans retain final authority over consequential decisions. AI systems should provide recommendations, not autonomous determinations, in high-stakes domains.
What You Can Do
Whenever an important decision is made about you, ask: was a human involved? If the answer is no, demand a human review. Check if services you rely on — banking, insurance, healthcare — use AI for decision-making and whether they offer human appeals.