Human Control
Intervention Time
Intervention time is the interval in which corrective action can still propagate before a system crosses an integrity boundary.
What It Explains
The problem this framework makes visible.
When human control remains nominally present but can no longer change the outcome.
System Mechanism
How the failure forms.
A system begins moving toward a boundary.
The rate of deterioration determines time remaining.
Detection, interpretation, authority, and execution consume part of the interval.
The intervention must propagate through the system.
Control fails when total response time exceeds time to boundary.
Failure Signatures
What an observer would see.
Human review after the decision is effectively irreversible
Escalation pathways longer than the remaining window
Oversight without practical stoppability
Corrective action arriving after threshold crossing