Table 11 Sept 2026From “Human and machine should divide the work”

Why must human-AI workflow design begin with discrete decisions rather than tools?

Table 1Why must human-AI workflow design begin with discrete decisions rather than tools?

Work field	Design question	Possible human contribution	Possible machine contribution
Task	What is the unit of work being assigned?	Define the decision and its boundary.	Process a specified search or comparison.
Contribution	Which strength is scarce at this step?	Context, intuition, judgment, empathy, and responsibility.	Analysis, pattern recognition, speed, and repeatability.
Handoff	When does one actor's output become another's input?	Interpret uncertainty and decide whether the output is usable.	Return a traceable result in the agreed format.
Coordination	How are disagreement and timing handled?	Ask for clarification, override, or escalation.	Surface alternatives, anomalies, or confidence information.
Accountability	Who can explain and own the action?	Accept responsibility for the decision and its effects.	Provide evidence of the processing step and its limits.
Failure mode	What happens when the output is wrong or incomplete?	Detect contextual mismatch and correct course.	Flag low coverage, uncertainty, or a pattern outside scope.

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Source: Table from this essay. Sources and interpretation are given in the article.

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From the essay

From the research bench

Human and machine should divide the work

Human-machine design starts with tasks, handoffs, coordination, and accountability: assign complementary strengths before discussing replacement.

1 Sept 2026

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Isoglu, S. (2026). Why must human-AI workflow design begin with discrete decisions rather than tools? [Table]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-human-and-machine-should-divide-the-work-fig01/

BibTeX

@misc{isoglu-2026-human-and-machine-should-divide-the-work-fig01,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{Why must human-AI workflow design begin with discrete decisions rather than tools?}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Table 1, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-human-and-machine-should-divide-the-work-fig01/},
  note = {From the essay {Human and machine should divide the work}}
}

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