DOT considers taking humans out of the AI loop

The Department of Transportation is considering whether workers always need to be in the loop for AI workflows, according to one of the agency’s top technology leaders. 

Having a human in the loop — which means having a team member control whether an AI tool starts or stops an action — is a risk management strategy present across the federal government. But as AI agents creep closer to agencies’ tech stacks, the prevalence of the practice may lessen. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, for example, handles about 500,000 inspections a year, according to Ankur Saini, chief product and technology officer for several DOT units, including FMCSA. With around 7 million drivers, the agency predicts many fraudulent carriers are escaping the check-in. AI agents offer a path to speed up the inspection process and reduce oversight gaps by initiating documentation requests from a motor carrier and taking over other low-risk tasks. 

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