Human-In-The-Loop Systems
What are Human-in-the-loop Systems?
Human-in-the-loop (HITL) systems integrate human oversight, feedback, and decision-making into artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning processes. These systems rely on humans to label data, verify outputs, correct errors, and guide AI learning, improving accuracy, fairness, and reliability in applications ranging from healthcare and fraud detection to voice assistants and autonomous systems.
The Basic Idea
Many of us take advantage of the cruise control feature in our cars when we’re driving at a consistent pace on an empty highway. Newer car models also have an adaptive cruise control system, which uses sensors and AI to adjust the car’s speed to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. If your cruise control is set to 80 miles per hour, but a car merges onto your lane, the sensor will reduce speed until the path is clear.
However, imagine that you’re driving along, using adaptive cruise control, when you suddenly begin to slow down unexpectedly. You look around and see no cars in sight; however, you notice a plastic bag up ahead. The sensor has mistaken the plastic bag for a car. Confident there is no danger, you push your foot on the gas pedal to get the car to speed up again.
In this instance, you’ve acted like a “human-in-the-loop” of the adaptive cruise control system. You intervened when the system was not functioning properly. HITL systems are collaborative approaches where human input and expertise are integrated throughout the lifecycle of a machine learning or AI system to provide guidance and feedback that help the system improve.1
HITL systems are important for tasks and areas that involve judgment, contextual understanding, and uncertainty. The feedback that a human provides allows AI models to adapt and evolve based on real-world scenarios, and become more personalized to user preferences.
The thing that always works the best is the intelligence from the human and the raw power from the machine. That’s what we need. We don’t replace the human. We amplify human intelligence. We augment the human.
— Gary King, Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS).2
About the Author
Emilie Rose Jones
Emilie currently works in Marketing & Communications for a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Ontario. She completed her Masters of English Literature at UBC in 2021, where she focused on Indigenous and Canadian Literature. Emilie has a passion for writing and behavioural psychology and is always looking for opportunities to make knowledge more accessible.
