Study 01 · Framework
As AI becomes more capable, the interface should not simply accumulate more safeguards. The right safeguards change with the authority a person has actually granted.
Study 01 follows one relationship between a person and an agent, from approving every invoice to taking authority back. The framework asks how that lifecycle might carry to other actions an agent takes on someone’s behalf.
The model
The lifecycle
The five stages of Study 01, and where each safeguard appears, changes or goes. Markers use the study’s grammar: dotted for what the agent proposes, yellow for what the person authors.
Evidence builds
The agent checks every invoice and Sam approves each one. Its record grows, while repeated approval becomes harder to justify.
- IntroducedApproval of every invoice
The agent proposes
It cites its record and asks to stop asking for routine invoices. It recommends a limit. Nothing changes until Sam decides.
- IntroducedA preview of what the authority would have done
The person grants
Sam sets the terms in one readable sentence: who, how much, when it pays, and when it pauses for review.
- Deliberately retiredApproval of each routine invoice
The agent acts
Routine invoices become receipts. Rules decide what may be paid; judgment adds what it noticed. Routine receipts recede; exceptions expand for review.
- AutomatedRoutine payments, each with a receipt
- Escalated only in exceptionsA changed account, held for Sam
Authority changes or returns
Tightening applies at once. Loosening asks first and names what changes. Turning off is one action with one confirmation, and authority pauses at its review date.
- StrengthenedA lower limit, at once
- ModifiedA higher limit, after naming what newly pays
Principles
The agent proposes. Only the person grants.
Moment 3Authority reads as one sentence, built from fields a person can check.
Moment 3Rules decide what may happen. AI judgment adds what it noticed.
Moment 5The model observes. The product writes the explanation and the next step.
The evidenceReducing authority should require less friction than expanding it.
The endingRoutine recedes. Exceptions expand.
Moments 4 and 5Authority never renews silently. It pauses at its review date.
Moment 3
Beyond payments
The same lifecycle, sketched for other actions an agent might take. Sketches, not studies.
| Action | The agent might propose, once its record supports it | Example hard boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Replying to messages | Answer routine scheduling requests from known contacts without asking | Never to a new recipient, and never with an attachment |
| Changing bookings | Rebook within a time window and a price band | Nothing non-refundable |
| Deleting information | Clear duplicates and expired drafts | Nothing that can’t be recovered |