Human agency
Agency is the ability to choose, exercise judgement and act according to our convictions.
It should help people think, decide and act with greater clarity. It should protect their knowledge and distinctiveness, give them meaningful choices, and support decisions grounded in their values, purpose and strategy.
Agency extends across work and life. Technology is one of the places where those choices are becoming more consequential.
When I consider a new technology, I want to know what it makes possible for the people using it. I also want to know what happens to their knowledge, identity, data and decisions along the way.
Choice should be real
People should be able to understand and influence:
- what happens to their knowledge, intellectual property and data
- who can access it and how it is used
- which technologies and suppliers they rely on
- how quickly they adopt new tools
- which decisions they delegate and which they retain
- how their values, judgement and priorities shape the technology
- how much complexity they allow into their lives and organisations.
These choices need to be available in practice, at the point where people are asked to use a system or live with its effects.
The Four Dimensions of Agency
I use four dimensions to examine what people may gain, give up or need to protect when they adopt technology. They offer a way to ask better questions before a tool becomes part of everyday work.
At the centre is meaningful choice.
Intellectual property
Who owns what we create? Where is it stored, and how can it be used?
Before putting valuable knowledge into a system, we need to understand whether we have the right to use it that way, what permissions we are granting and whether the value of our accumulated knowledge remains available to us.
Identity
Does the technology preserve what makes a person or organisation recognisable?
Our voice, values, experience and ways of working give knowledge its character. When a system produces something on our behalf, we should be able to recognise ourselves in it and stand behind what it says.
Data
Where does our information go? Who can access it, and what controls apply?
That includes the information we put into a system and what it produces in response. People and organisations need to understand how data is stored, used and governed, and what happens if they change their minds.
Decisions
Are we retaining the ability to think, exercise judgement and act according to our convictions?
Technology can help us find information and consider options. We still need to know how recommendations were reached, which decisions remain with people and where responsibility sits.
The Four Dimensions of Agency
Intellectual property
What knowledge are we putting in, and do we have the right to use it this way?
Will using this tool compromise the distinctiveness of our IP?
Identity
Would the people behind that knowledge stand behind what it produces?
Does it accurately represent our voice, values and expertise?
Data
Who can access what we put in, and the answers that come out?
Where is it stored, how is it used, and can we take it back?
Decisions
Can we see how recommendations and conclusions are reached?
How do we protect and support human decision-making while using these tools?
Five principles for adopting technology
The four dimensions give us questions to ask. These five principles help turn those questions into decisions.
Start with purpose
Define the problem, the intended outcome and the people affected.
Preserve meaningful choice
Give employees and customers clear options wherever the experience affects them directly.
Keep judgement visible
Establish where people remain responsible for interpretation, decisions and consequences.
Protect ownership and distinctiveness
Know what happens to intellectual property, identity, data and organisational knowledge.
Reduce the burden
Technology should remove friction, clarify information and create capacity for better work.
A system needs to solve the intended problem, work in practice and make life easier for the people using it.
A question to take into the room
The next time you’re considering a tool for yourself or your organisation, ask: what choices will people have once this is part of their work?
Then look at those choices across intellectual property, identity, data and decisions. The answers will tell you more than a feature list.
Referencing this work
Please cite this framework as:
Nina Christian, The Four Dimensions of Agency, ninachristian.com/human-agency.
You’re welcome to quote, summarise and refer to my published ideas and frameworks when you name me as the author and link to the source. Please ask me before reproducing them in full, teaching them commercially or building them into a product.