A built-in safety gate that stops an automated software agent from executing high-risk commands (like deleting files or wiring money) until a human clicks a confirmation button.

Used by AI agent startups to make a standard confirmation pop-up window sound like an ethical nuclear launch safety protocol.

• Confirmation Glamour: Dressing up a basic Are you sure? (Y/N) pop-up box in elite safety engineering vocabulary.
• Autonomous Illusion: Pretending the software is fully independent right up until it needs a human to do the actual work.
• House-Cleaning Reality Check: Like asking your spouse before throwing away an old box and calling it a "destructive action pause for human approval."

WarGames (1980s): General Beringer (Barry Corbin) steps in to pause destructive actions for human approval, physically blocking the automated WOPR system from executing nuclear launch sequences.

A safety check that stops automated software from making high-risk changes until a person approves it.

“The workflow engine pauses destructive actions for human approval before modifying database schemas.”

“We programmed the app to display a manual confirmation button so the AI cannot send wire transfers without a manager clicking 'approve'.”