Why AI Agents Increase External AI Reliance (www.aivojournal.org)

Enterprises are increasingly implementing AI agents that autonomously perform crucial tasks such as decision-making and workflow coordination, marking a significant shift from AI as a supportive tool to AI as an active participant in operations. While internal governance has been the focal point of AI discussions, the article highlights a critical oversight: the rise of these autonomous agents does not lessen reliance on external AI systems, such as ChatGPT or Claude, but instead amplifies it. As AI agents execute actions at scale, they create a complex landscape where human roles evolve from being primary decision-makers to acting as post-hoc reviewers reliant on external narratives for context and compliance checks. This reliance on external AI for interpretive solutions stems from the limitations of internal systems, which struggle to provide timely and neutral assessments. External AI offers immediate explanations that can frame actions within industry norms, while internal logs lack the necessary contextual understanding and authority. This dynamic leads to a feedback loop where enterprise decision-making increasingly depends on external AI interpretations, raising new governance risks associated with narrative reliance. The study concludes that as enterprises adopt these AI agents, understanding the implications of external AI reliance becomes paramount, transforming it into a pressing governance concern rather than a secondary issue to address.