---
id: "quote-unclear-decisions"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ They Reduce Uncertainty", "¶8"]
tags: ["worker-sentiment", "accountability", "automation"]
related: ["claim-exec-uncertainty-travels-downstream", "concept-dynamic-skill-and-task-mapping"]
speaker: "Anonymous Line Worker"
speakers: ["Anonymous Line Worker"]
quote: "As more tasks become automated, it's not always clear what decisions we're still responsible for and when we're supposed to step in."
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/the-best-manufacturers-build-ai-with-workers-not-for-them"
sourceTitle: "The Best Manufacturers Build AI with Workers, Not for Them"
sources: ["adoption"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-adoption"
originDay: 9
articleStem: "hbr-cl-78-build-ai-with-workers"
---
# Worker on Unclear Accountability

> "As more tasks become automated, it's not always clear what decisions we're still responsible for and when we're supposed to step in."
> — **Anonymous Line Worker**

This line-worker quote is the human face of [[claim-exec-uncertainty-travels-downstream]]: when leaders cannot define which decisions remain human or when escalation should happen, that ambiguity lands directly on the floor. The prescribed fix is [[concept-dynamic-skill-and-task-mapping]], which exists precisely to make accountability boundaries explicit alongside workers.