AI-Augmented Decision Rights: Redesigning Authority in Human-Machine Organizations, by Jonathan H. Westover PhD

Abstract: Organizations increasingly deploy artificial intelligence systems as active participants in decision-making processes, fundamentally altering traditional authority structures and accountability frameworks. This transformation requires systematic redesign of decision rights—the formal and informal protocols governing who decides what, when, and with what level of AI involvement. Drawing on organizational design theory and human-computer interaction research, this article examines how organizations are reconfiguring decision authority in human-machine systems. Evidence suggests that effective AI augmentation depends less on technical sophistication than on clarity of decision rights allocation, transparency mechanisms, and structured human-AI collaboration protocols. The analysis presents evidence-based interventions spanning governance architecture, capability development, and sociotechnical system design, offering practitioners actionable frameworks for navigating this transition while preserving human agency and organizational accountability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices