Agentic AI Is Like a Teenager with a Credit Card. Here’s How to Raise It Right

It’s late at night, and you get a call from your bank saying there are some suspicious charges on your credit card. $200 at Build-a-Bear, then $100 at Bath and Body Works, followed by $80 for a full snack package at the movie theater, all in one night? You check your wallet. Ugh, your teen nabbed your card again. The concept of “free money” has caused a spree of erratic, irresponsible spending.

Agentic AI can act in the same way. Infused with a youthful sense of blind confidence and granted great power, chaos often ensues. Intensions may be right, but dangerous consequences often follow when AI agents are left to run unchecked. Autonomy needs maturity, a responsible adult to lay down the law and set healthy boundaries. So, how can we manage this wild child, full of both incredible possibilities and concerning power?

Autonomy Without Understanding

The reaction to agentic AI at Google I/O earlier this year was very telling. On one hand, the capabilities are remarkable and exciting. On the other hand, many observers expressed concern about the implications of a fast-moving system with limited transparency or accountability, entrusted with essential tasks. This is reflected across the business world: In a May 2025 survey, 28% of senior executives reported that lack of trust in AI agents is a top-three challenge in their business.

Agentic AI interprets the world differently than we do. It doesn’t comprehend; it estimates, especially when dealing with complex data like spoken language, emotional tone, visual queues, and cultural nuance. A 2024 study underscored AI’s overconfidence in these estimations: When AI was 90% confident of its responses’ accuracy, the accuracy rate was only 70%. Much like an errant teenager, it makes guesses and confidently acts on them.

Its speed is also cause for concern. It makes lightning-fast decisions long before humans can intervene. Often operating as a black box, it lacks the explainability needed to provide the “why” behind decisions.

The Consequences of Borderless AI

An embarrassing teenage mistake can have long-term effects on how people perceive and trust them. AI can face a similar reputation loss. In the tech industry, like in a teen’s life, trust and reputation are everything. If agents are client-facing or public in any way, mistakes can shatter trust in an instant.

The effects of unchecked AI agents can be devastating. Mistakes that aren’t discovered or corrected can become systematic, introducing long-term bias to the system. Mistakes in a multi-step task are even more troublesome; an agent with just a 1% error rate per step can compound to a 63% chance of error by the 100th step. The compounding interest of bad decisions can be costly in both time and money.

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Becoming the Responsible Adult in the Room

As the responsible guardians, it’s time for us to step up and be the kind of parents who will empower AI to thrive. These methods are key to both reining in and empowering our agents.

Raise Them Right

Like bringing up a kid, training AI agents needs to emphasize ethics and the ability to see the nuance and diversity of the world. A diverse, interdisciplinary team involved in the training can help instill a broad range of thoughts, priorities, and reasoning. Ensure that engineers aren’t the only ones involved; include domain experts, UX designers, HR and culture leaders, and team members from various backgrounds and levels. Each brings a different perspective that ensures the agents have a more informed approach to problems.

Invest in Education

Proper training can make or break agents. Alongside a diverse team, good quality, diverse, and relevant data help to build better agents. Invest in quality data, and take the time needed to properly infuse your agents with relevant information. Securing quality data is no easy task, rated as the top challenge in implementing AI, but a strong foundation goes a long way, so don’t skimp on this step. Like with teens, a solid education equips agents to face the real world more informed, careful, and aware.

Set Boundaries

Set a curfew and keep to it. With your diverse team, define the role of the AI agents and where they should operate. Prioritize areas where they can have the most impact. Set clear boundaries on what they have access to and what tasks they will complete. Define success and failure, and as trust is built, these boundaries can be reassessed.

Keep a Watchful Eye

Even as trust grows, oversight cannot be halted. Agents should always have guardians who constantly check their work, especially when new tasks or responsibilities are introduced. Mistakes aren’t always blatant; sometimes, drifting occurs, where results degrade over time, requiring a keen eye to stay vigilant.

The Overbearing Parent

However, too many boundaries can also be detrimental. A teen locked in their room all day won’t learn how to succeed. AI agents that are chained to simple tasks aren’t meeting their full potential. The ability to learn and improve is diminished, and value is lost. Employees can also quickly disengage and lose interest in a nearly useless tool, creating a team wary and apathetic toward these powerful tools. Everything in moderation: learn to balance healthy boundaries and appropriate freedom.

It Takes a Village

AI agents, like teenagers, exemplify what we hope society can achieve. With this weight on their shoulders, it’s imperative that agents be designed for responsible autonomy. Taking the time to invest in agents may seem like a daunting task at the start, but it will pay dividends when agents perform with lasting quality and reliability. AI agents can bring incredible value and innovation, but they need to be raised right. It takes a village: a dedicated, diverse team committed to development and training. It’s time to rise to the challenge.

About the Author:

Lihi Segev is Executive Vice President at Qualitest