“Here they are! Our political leaders have left the decision to the High Command. Again!” I said pointing out the story in the newspaper.

“They just do not want to decide anything” Nina, my myna, said with contempt. “Shirking responsibility”

“They are supposed to be the leaders. But they do not show agency.” Lulu, my parrot, observed.

“What?”

“Agency!”

“What does that mean?”

“Agency is the underlying capacity to make choices and drive change rather than just being a passenger.” Lulu clarified.

“Thanks Professor Lulu.” Nina retorted, and said, “That’s a hallmark of leaders, yes, I agree.”

“Great leaders show ‘agency.’ Mahatma Gandhi …..”

“You said ‘capacity to make choices,’ hmmm …. But don’t we accept so many things without a thought?”

“When managers take personality tests they believe the result unquestioningly.”

“Their wives say that they give the same feedback, but managers believe the printed test report which says the same thing!” Nina, my myna said. The sting in her voice made Lulu, my parrot and me laugh.

“And people accept what boss says. No agency there”

“Yes. It saves us the trouble of making decisions and feeling guilty if things go wrong.”

“Obedience to authority is a big problem. Stanley Milgram’s famous experiment focuses on obedience to the authority”

“What’s that?”

“Read it on Wikipedia. Milgram says, “Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process.’”

“Isn’t that happening in USA today?”

“It is happening all over the world!”

“Why do we obey those in authority? Elders teach us to obey them in our childhood. Our mind is conditioned.”

“We must accept a thought. Respecting elders is another thing. Growing up is all about losing counterproductive conditioning”

“The trick is growing up without growing old, as they say.”

“Hmmm …. In this age of Artificial Intelligence, agency has assumed great importance. We tend to blindly accept anything coming from AI, but we must appreciate that AI can be wrong or misleading. That is why we must show agency.”

“We accept AI without much thought because it answers instantly and presents its answers in a polished language. The answers seem complete and therefore convincing”

“This is exactly what Babas and Godmen do to mislead and exploit masses for personal benefit. Their language is persuasive and convincing, and they answer instantly all queries too” Nina said.

“Therefore, we must critically review what AI says. Not get swayed by its language, nor by its so-called show of authority. That’s the conclusion” Lulu observed.

“Ha ha! Agency is to treat answers of AI as the first draft to work on. It is not the final answer.”

“You got it. One way is to ask pros and cons of an issue and not the answer”

“But you have got to trust the advice of doctors, lawyers. No choice.”

“Not exactly. People who are advised surgery or diagnosed with cancer also take second opinion. Two concurring opinions gives them the confidence that the diagnosis is right.”

“If there are differing opinions, they will find a way to make the critical decision.”

“Patients consult Google and accept the verdict without a question. Doctors get irritated when they realise that patients are talking to them after consulting Google.”

“Yes. People are now blindly accepting the authority of Artificial Intelligence. Because it sounds like an expert! It generates voluminous responses and it could unknowingly force us to surrender our thinking. This is the danger.”

“This is why Agency has become so important today. There is data galore. We must work on pros and cons and finally take a call. This is how decisions were taken in the past and I do not see why it changes now.”

“Can you suggest specific areas where we must rely on our judgment for action?”

“As a thumb rule, before going to AI on any issue we must spend a few minutes thinking about what we know already”

“That is a good one,” said Nina. “Have your opinion but hold it loosely. Be willing to change your mind based on evidence and reasoning”.

“Next step, ask AI to provide credible data on both sides of the argument and topic. Ask AI to share data from credible and noteworthy websites and sources”.

“And thus, you have retained agency here!”

“Hmmm …. In short, use AI but make your own decisions.”

“There are some important areas where human review is important. First, in preventing discriminatory bias, particularly in certain HR systems. Second, in deciding credit worthiness. Third, in healthcare diagnostics.”

“Yes, Healthcare diagnostics. That is very important.”

“And the fourth which is equally important is researching and applying law because legal decisions directly affect individual liberty.”

“Use Artificial Intelligence but review. That makes me uncomfortable”

“That’s because taking ownership makes us feel lonely and uncomfortable. Focus on the result and avoid get carried away by AI’s responses. Ultimately, our purpose must be served.”

“Yes, our purpose must be served. Thomas Edison said, ‘There ain’t no rules here; we are trying to accomplish something.” Got it?

Vivek S Patwardhan with Deepa Premkumar

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” All matter copyrighted.

“तुम्ही जो वारसा मागे ठेवून जाता, तो म्हणजे दगडी स्मारकांवर कोरलेले शब्द नव्हे; तर तो वारसा म्हणजे इतरांनी आयुष्य विणताना विणले गेलेले तुमचे धागे होत.” सर्व मजकूर कॉपीराइट-संरक्षित आहे.