Autonomy Levels per Action

Mailbox is an email assistant, and a user asks it to clear the inbox. In one run, it archives a shopping newsletter, and it sends a client a reply that accepts a contract date.

A wrong archive is fixed by moving the newsletter back. A wrong reply has already been read, and no tool can remove that fact.

A design that calls Mailbox "semi-autonomous" treats those two actions alike. How much freedom should each action receive, and how do you decide?

The Four Levels

**An autonomy level states who performs an action and when a person learns about it