Safety Intermediate 1 minute read Updated 2026-06-26 UTC

Human capability preservation

How to keep model ecologies from deskilling the people and institutions they are supposed to help.

Research statusSafety synthesis from mutualism and drive reports Publication statePublished Reviewed byMichael Kappel Source reports3

Why it belongs in viability

A model ecology can improve immediate output while weakening human skill. That is not a neutral side effect. It changes the long-term resilience of the human organization. A mutualist breeding system should therefore measure human capability preservation as part of its viability function.

Preservation metrics

MetricQuestion
explanation qualityCan users understand why the system recommends an action?
independent task successCan users perform the task with reduced AI support?
review accuracyCan humans catch system errors?
source literacyCan users trace evidence to source material?
override rateCan users disagree successfully without penalty?
training transferDoes using the system improve later unaided work?
pseudocode
FUNCTION evaluate_human_capability(system, users, task_suite)
    assisted <- RUN_TASKS(users, task_suite, mode = "with_ai")
    unassisted_after <- RUN_TASKS(users, task_suite, mode = "reduced_ai_after_training")
    review_score <- MEASURE_ERROR_DETECTION(users, system.outputs)

    RETURN {
        immediate_gain: assisted.score - baseline.score,
        retained_skill: unassisted_after.score - baseline.score,
        review_accuracy: review_score,
        dependency_risk: assisted.score - unassisted_after.score
    }
END FUNCTION

Interface patterns

Use citations, uncertainty, contrastive explanations, checklists, and handoff summaries. Avoid interfaces that hide evidence, encourage continuous passive use, or punish users for pausing the system.

Operational target

A good system should reduce toil while increasing judgment. If it only increases throughput by making people less able to reason without it, its viability score is incomplete.

Source reports used for this guide

These reports are preserved verbatim in the site archive. The guide above is an editorial synthesis and may narrow, qualify, or reorganize claims from the source material.