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AI Governance Glossary
Governance Practice

What Is Human Oversight?

Human Oversight is the design and governance measures that let people effectively monitor, intervene in, or override an AI system while it operates.

Definition

Human Oversight โ€” the design and governance measures that let people effectively monitor, intervene in, or override an AI system while it operates.

Human oversight keeps a meaningful human role in consequential AI decisions. EU AI Act Article 14 requires high-risk AI systems to be designed so that the humans assigned to oversee them can understand the output, watch for signs the system is malfunctioning, and stop or reverse it. It is distinct from a token "human in the loop" โ€” the oversight has to be genuinely capable of changing the outcome.

Source: EU AI Act, Article 14; NIST AI RMF

Plain-language explanation

Human oversight keeps a meaningful human role in consequential AI decisions. EU AI Act Article 14 requires high-risk AI systems to be designed so that the humans assigned to oversee them can understand the output, watch for signs the system is malfunctioning, and stop or reverse it. It is distinct from a token "human in the loop" โ€” the oversight has to be genuinely capable of changing the outcome.

Primary source: EU AI Act, Article 14; NIST AI RMF

Related terms

Human-in-the-Loop Meaningful Human Control High-Risk AI Automation Bias

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