Planning for Agentic AI Deployment

We’ve written a lot about the risks posed by agentic AI systems. Earlier this month, I also discussed some tips for managing those risks. Though if you’re considering deploying an agentic AI, effective risk mitigation largely depends on upfront planning. Understanding the scope of the AI’s autonomy and having a backup plan in case it malfunctions are essential to deploying AI safely. A recent Stoel Rives blog  provides guiding questions to help deployers think through their AI systems:

“Before deploying agentic AI in a business context, ask:

• What authority will this agent have? Can it only read data, or can it modify systems, move funds, or initiate communications?
• What decisions can it make without human approval? Where are the guardrails, and how are they enforced?
• What systems can it interact with? Each integration expands the blast radius of a system failure or compromise. How safe is it?
• How will its behavior be audited and monitored? Can auditors observe what the agent is doing, why it is doing it, and the input used?
• What is the failure mode? How do you stop it if it becomes a threat?”

By its nature, agentic AI presents more risks than other categories of generative AI. This means that companies must take more care in designing and deploying auditable systems with human oversight and guardrails. To save yourself time, effort, and potentially money, that process should begin long before agentic AI is deployed.