Quoting Jon Udell
Jon Udell argues against the phrase "human in the loop," saying it cedes authority to machines. Instead, he frames agent-assisted software development as a human-driven process where agents are invited into the existing workflow, not a black-box loop that excludes people.
Background
- Jon Udell is a long-time software developer and technology writer known for thoughtful takes on collaboration, information architecture, and developer tooling. Simon Willison is a prominent Python developer, creator of Datasette, and influential commentator on AI and LLMs.
- This quote pushes back on "human in the loop" — a common AI safety phrase meaning a human reviews or approves machine outputs. Udell argues the framing subtly grants machines primary agency and positions humans as a mere oversight layer.
- "Unreviewable PRs" (pull requests) refers to AI coding agents that generate large, opaque code changes that are impractical for a human to meaningfully review before merging — a growing practical headache in software teams using LLM-based coding tools.
- The core point: don't design AI-assisted workflows that exclude humans from the normal collaborative process. Instead, treat AI agents as junior team members who make changes the same way any developer would — visible, reviewable, discussable.