# Humanwashing -- It Should Leave You Feeling Dirty

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.13723 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.13723/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 May 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [When combinations of humans and AI are useful: A systematic review and meta-analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06087/) (2024)
- [Do People Engage Cognitively with AI? Impact of AI Assistance on Incidental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05402/) (2022)
- [The Flaws of Policies Requiring Human Oversight of Government Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.05067/) (2021)
- [Human-in-the-loop or AI-in-the-loop? Automate or Collaborate?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.14232/) (2024)
- [Human-AI collaboration is not very collaborative yet: A taxonomy of interaction patterns in AI-assisted decision making from a systematic review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19778/) (2023)
- [User Ex Machina : Simulation as a Design Probe in Human-in-the-Loop Text Analytics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.02244/) (2021)
- [Human in the Latent Loop (HILL): Interactively Guiding Model Training Through Human Intuition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.06325/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The phrase 'human in the loop' is increasingly used to imply a sense of safety in relation to AI decision systems. It shouldn't. There are contexts where it can be applied appropriately, but these are not in the deployed decision systems we see dominating today. Human oversight of AI decision processes is one of the most popular proposals for addressing concerns, especially about bias, discrimination, misinformation, manipulation, accountability, and transparency. But there is insufficient examination of what human oversight actually means. The question raised in this paper is whether using the metaphor of a loop does anything to assist understanding of what is required and what is achieved in a particular decision context. Indiscriminate use of the loop metaphor obscures both processes and outcomes. It enables 'humanwashing', an activity analogous to 'greenwashing', where writers and commentators use language primarily aimed at putting systems in the best possible light.