Choose the control loop around an AI agent first, then pursue broader deployment
The production decision is a control decision
Do not choose broad production deployment on the basis of a successful demo; choose a bounded pilot with predefined control points. The NIST source states that performance or assurance criteria are measured and demonstrated qualitatively or quantitatively under conditions similar to the intended deployment. It also calls for functionality and behavior to be monitored in production. In this context, the harness is therefore not a separate technical layer, but the practical setup through which a team can incorporate evaluation and monitoring into the workflow. This is a design recommendation based on those general risk-management principles; the passages do not prescribe a specific agent architecture or set of access permissions.
Document human oversight where deployment requires it
For high-risk AI, the European Commission describes human oversight and monitoring by deployers, as well as a post-market monitoring system for providers. This supports a clear choice for workflows within that scope: assign in advance who assesses deviations and who makes a follow-up decision. For other systems, this does not mean that the same legal obligation applies; the supplied passage explicitly states that no rules are introduced for AI with minimal or no risk. Use the risk category and the specific workflow as the boundary of your decision, not the label “agent” alone.
Make the pilot verifiable with a single register
Use this decision register for the pilot: for each workflow, record the objective and expected deployment conditions, the owner of the evaluation, the measurement criterion, the production signal, the point for human review, and the decision to make in the event of a deviation. This links the documented test data from the NIST source to an operational decision point. Schedule a fixed reassessment after the first production run: continue, restrict, or stop. Limitation: the supplied passages provide no technical instructions for authorization, rollback, or incident handling; supplement these controls based on your own threat analysis, workflow, and applicable obligations.
