Before Removing Friction, Ask What It Protects
Agentic AI, while promising significant productivity gains across industries, necessitates a careful re-evaluation of "friction" in product design. While waste and confusion should be eliminated, protective friction—such as underwriting, confirmation, and human escalation—is crucial for safeguarding against unintended consequences. This protective friction acts as a vital control layer, ensuring human judgment is preserved for critical decisions, especially when AI agents are empowered to take real-world actions. AI
IMPACT Highlights the need for careful product design when integrating agentic AI to balance automation with essential human oversight.