What makes an AI workflow safe enough for live operations?
A live AI workflow needs limited authority, controlled data access, observable actions, proportionate human approval, reliable failure handling and a way to stop it quickly.
Safety is an operating design, not a disclaimer. Permissions should be no broader than the task requires.
Logs must make significant actions and decisions reviewable. Alerts and escalation should reach a named owner.
Testing should include malformed inputs, missing systems, conflicting instructions and provider outages—not only the happy path.
The system can send or publish without review
Credentials are shared or excessively privileged
There is no audit trail
Nobody owns exceptions or shutdown decisions