The Disappearing Operator: Human Meaning and Moral Agency in Automated Nuclear Systems

As automation technologies reshape the architecture of decision-making in nuclear control rooms, the human operator is increasingly displaced—not just functionally, but epistemically and ethically. This paper interrogates the limitations of traditional Human Factors paradigms in the face of hybrid human–machine systems, arguing that procedural optimisation and error mitigation are no longer sufficient safeguards. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from cognitive psychology, epistemology, and safety science, the paper introduces the concepts of epistemic drift and moral deskilling as structural consequences of opaque automation. It proposes a reorientation of Human Factors toward epistemic stewardship, distributed governance, and the design of interpretive agency. In high-stakes environments where judgement must be preserved, not overridden, the future of safety depends not only on technological reliability—but on the cognitive and moral dignity of the human operator.