The Final Signature Must Be Human

Originally written in Traditional Chinese: AI 可以算，最後簽名的必須是人

AI can do the math. But as of this week, in Italy, it cannot decide on its own to fire you. The final signature has to belong to a person.

On October 23, Italy's Legislative Decree No. 179/2026 took effect, aligning national law with the EU AI Act. When employers use AI in decisions such as hiring, performance reviews, disciplinary measures, or dismissals, the final decision cannot rest solely on automated processing. It must be made by a person with real, independent authority. A rubber stamp on the system's output does not count.

Two more points caught my attention. A dismissal made in breach of the rule is void. And an employee can ask a person for an understandable explanation of the decision, including how much weight the AI system carried.

What it does not say matters too. It does not ban AI at work. AI can still calculate, rank, and recommend. Candidate screening is not treated as a final decision. Its core is the last step: who makes the call.

My take: this law does not protect jobs. It protects reasons. "The system recommended it" is no longer a reason. Someone has to be able to say why.

In my course I often say: AI is speed, people are direction. You can hand off speed. You cannot hand off direction.

To be clear, I am not saying human decisions are always better. People are biased, tired, and wrong. Some things AI calculates better than we do. The law does not claim humans are more accurate either. It says someone must be accountable and able to explain. Accuracy can be improved together. Without someone accountable, there is nothing to improve.

You do not need a law to start. Try a signature test today. Before acting on an AI recommendation, ask: "If I had to sign this decision, could I explain why?" If yes, use it. If not, pause. Then write one sentence each time you adopt AI's advice: "I am going with this because ___." The time you cannot finish that sentence is the time to think again.

For managers: when the system suggests a rating or a schedule, explain it in plain words before you click confirm.

For educators: if AI scored an essay, would you sign that score?

For parents: when your child says "AI said so," ask: "What do you think, and why?" That question trains the ability that will matter most.

It's not about who pressed the button. It's about who can say why.

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