A 2x2 feasibility screen for agentic work. Autonomy requires a separate warrant.
Two questions screen technical feasibility: Can the context be captured structurally? And is there a feedback loop to measure success?
Rich context plus fast feedback show technical feasibility, nothing more. An autonomy warrant sets what the agent may do, its limits, and its recourse.
The loop works, but its context cannot be captured. You must supply that context for each cycle.
Both conditions are present, so bounded agent execution may be feasible. An autonomy warrant must still authorize it.
Neither context nor outcomes are clear enough to delegate. A human must lead and judge.
AI can use the context and produce options. You decide whether the result is good.
The task lens aids analysis, not reassurance. AI acts on tasks. Firms and institutions decide how this changes jobs, pay, workload, and power.
The matrix screens technical feasibility. It cannot predict headcount, assign gains, or grant autonomy.
Context includes sources, current state, instructions, and institutional memory. It is capturable when an agent can access and read what the task needs without a person rebuilding it each time.
Useful context needs provenance, an owner, update rules, proper access, conflict handling, and deletion. Some should stay uncaptured. Capturability helps feasibility. Permission and trust require more.
A feedback loop gives the system evidence of success or failure, then uses it to improve the process. Signals include tests, metrics, rubric-based review, user behavior, or ground-truth checks.
A useful loop is fast, frequent, aligned, and actionable. A fast loop can still chase the wrong metric. Before relying on it, test its validity, independence, coverage, and resistance to manipulation.
The matrix shows how easy candidate work is to produce and check. It does not decide trust or grant autonomy.
The matrix can change. Top-right is not every task's goal. Better context or feedback helps only when value exceeds assurance and absorption costs. Some context should stay uncaptured.
The matrix screens feasibility. The autonomy warrant decides whether an agent may act without synchronous approval. Answer five questions:
Match autonomy to the consequence class: reversible, recoverable, hard to reverse, or safety-critical. A good demo cannot grant authority. The warrant is revocable; autonomy grows only with evidence. Read the full warrant in the manifesto →
Each quadrant suggests how to produce and check candidate work. The warrant still controls autonomy.
This work depends on tacit knowledge, lived experience, or nuance. Success is hard to measure, reviewers often disagree, and confident output is hard to verify.
AI is useful for:
Your job:
Watch out for:
Do not mistake fluent text for sound judgment. Values and tradeoffs need human decisions.
The loop works only when a person supplies context for every run. This is assisted execution; it grants no autonomous authority.
The workflow:
Watch out for:
Watch for unstructured context drip, stale context, and AI chasing the metric instead of the goal.
Upgrade path:
Capture context from systems. Use intake forms and structured memory such as project KBs and decision logs. Turn repeated context into schemas, required fields, and retrieval sources.
AI can read the context and generate options, but success remains subjective. Judge each output before anyone acts.
The workflow:
Watch out for:
"Looks good" without a rubric creates inconsistent results. Unrecorded feedback teaches nothing. Polished prose can hide false facts.
Upgrade path:
Label judgments and record reasons. Build QA checklists. Test proxy metrics against real outcomes. Structured judgment can improve assurance; proxies are not ground truth.
Accessible context and measurable outcomes can make bounded agent execution feasible. An autonomy warrant must still authorize action.
Before action, write the warrant:
The production loop:
Watch out for:
Bad feedback rewards the wrong result. Watch for stale context and missing stop rules. Match autonomy to the consequence class; a demo cannot grant it.
Better context or feedback can make candidate work easier. Invest only when value exceeds the cost of assurance, absorption, and context governance. Leave some tasks alone.
Choose a frequent, repetitive, or costly task. Define its input, output, and failure conditions. Place it in the feasibility screen. If delegation fits, write the autonomy warrant before the agent acts.
The matrix does not decide jobs or human worth. It shows technical feasibility. People and institutions decide authority, rights, and who gets the gain.