A Field Guide to Decision Making
arXiv:2604.20669 · doi:10.1109/MCSE.2026.3676981
Abstract
High-consequence decision making demands peak performance from individuals in positions of responsibility. Such executive authority bears the obligation to act despite uncertainty, limited resources, time constraints, and accountability risks. Tools and strategies to motivate confidence and foster risk tolerance must confront informational noise and can provide qualified accountability. Machine intelligence augments human cognition and perception to improve situational awareness, decision framing, flexibility, and coherence through agentic stewardship of contextual metadata. We examine systemic and behavioral factors crucial to address in scenarios encumbered by complexity, uncertainty, and urgency.
6 pages, to be published in IEEE Computer Society Special Edition on Urgent Science and Computing (2026)