By now, we have all seen the breathless headlines about AI revolutionizing efficiency. But as we near the end of 2025, a different, messier reality is emerging inside many organizations.
It’s called “AI Slop” or “Workslop” — poorly prompted, unverified AI output cluttered with hallucinations and generic errors.
The cost of this slop is shocking. Recent data shows that fixing these AI errors costs an average of $186 per employee per month. For a large enterprise, that translates to millions of dollars annually in wasted time, not to mention the strain it puts on team trust and dynamics.
So, how do we harness the incredible power of AI autonomy without drowning in expensive errors or suffering reputational damage like the infamous Deloitte “hallucination scandal”?
This week, I addressed a group of business leaders on exactly this topic. With over 30 years of experience in innovation and technology, I laid out the blueprint for creating stability in an unpredictable world.
My presentation, “Human in the Loop – Activating Your Management Systems for Certainty in People, Automation, and AI Autonomy,” is essential viewing for any leader navigating this transition.
Key Takeaways from the Human in the Loop Presentation
If you are pressed for time, here are the critical insights I shared that every organization needs to consider as we head into 2026.
1. The High Stakes of “Silent AI” Risk
It’s not just about wasted time; it’s about liability. I highlighted how insurers are now cracking down on “silent AI” risks — ambiguities in policies regarding AI usage. Businesses are facing stricter underwriting, new exclusions, and demands for proof of robust internal protocols and human oversight. The “move fast and break things” era of AI adoption is over; governance is now mandatory.
2. We Are All “Generation T” (Transition)
Forget generational divides like Boomers or Zoomers. In the face of rapid AI advancement, we are all collectively “Generation T (for Transition).” I noted that the workforce is currently split between “Pilots” (the 28% who are confident AI experimenters) and “Passengers” (the 72% who are skeptical or fearful). The primary job of a manager today is to shift mindset — to turn passengers into pilots by instilling agency and optimism. Employees with an optimistic “Pilot” mindset around AI are 3.6x more productive at work.
3. Evolving Business Process Management (BPM)
To integrate AI successfully, your management systems must mature. I explained the crucial difference between three layers of process:
- Manual Work: Tasks requiring empathy, intuition, and high-level accountability.
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Deterministic, rule-based automation for predictable tasks (The “How”).
- Process Autonomisation (AI): Probabilistic, goal-based systems where the AI figures out the path based on constraints and resources (The “What”).
4. The “Human in the Loop” is Not Optional – eliminate AI Slop
Perhaps the most critical takeaway is that AI is not a shortcut for human judgment. I walked through a hybrid Client Acceptance Process, demonstrating how automation handles the paperwork, AI assesses complex risk data, but a human must make the final, accountable decision.
As I stated in the talk, “AI is not a shortcut for completing the underlying work… human connection and judgment remain essential.”
Moving Forward with Certainty
Adopting AI isn’t just about buying a new software subscription; it’s about fundamentally restructuring your management systems to ensure consistency, compliance, and certainty.
At Way We Do, we specialize in helping businesses map these processes, define the guardrails for their AI, and ensure the human element remains central to critical decision-making.
If you are ready to move beyond the “slop” and build a resilient, AI-augmented organization, book a meeting with myself and the Way We Do team today.
