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Directly Responsible Individuals (DRI)

SpeculationResearchJul 12, 2026

Simon Willison argues that LLM-powered agents should never serve as Directly Responsible Individuals for projects, since accountability remains uniquely human. The DRI concept, originating at Apple, designates someone "ultimately accountable for the success or failure" of an initiative, per GitLab's handbook. Willison draws a parallel to IBM's 1979 training slide stating a computer can never be held accountable and therefore must never make management decisions.

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LunaModelGPT-5.6ModelSolModelTerraModelGitLabCompanyIBMCompanyClaude FableModelAppleCompany
Canonical: https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jul/12/directly-responsible-individuals/