---
id: "quote-blame-technology"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Accountability becomes blurred."]
tags: ["accountability", "psychology"]
related: ["concept-accountability-blurring", "entity-kevin"]
speaker: "Study Participant"
speakers: ["Study Participant"]
quote: "The blame isn't on a person; it's on the technology."
sources: ["agentic"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-agentic"
originDay: 6
articleStem: "hbr-ext-16-dont-treat-agents-like-employees"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/research-why-you-shouldnt-treat-ai-agents-like-employees"
sourceTitle: "Research: Why You Shouldn’t Treat AI Agents Like Employees"
---
# Blaming the Technology

> "The blame isn't on a person; it's on the technology."
> — Study Participant

This quote crystallizes [[concept-accountability-blurring]]: once an AI agent is anthropomorphized (see [[concept-ai-employee-framing]] and [[entity-kevin]]), humans redirect blame for errors onto the technology rather than onto the human responsible for its deployment and review. It is the qualitative complement to the measured shift in [[claim-accountability-shift-d6]] and the reason the authors insist on explicit, personal accountability via the [[framework-accountability-rules]].