Neural Dynamics of the out-of-the-Loop Phenomenon During the Supervision of an Automated System

This EEG study investigated brain activity of the “out-of-the-loop” (OOTL) phenomenon by manipulating trust (via system reliability) and vigilance while supervising an obstacle-avoiding automated system. Additionally, we assessed how the sense of agency evolved with system reliability and its relationship with brain activity. Monitoring reliable systems altered supervisory strategies without inducing disengagement. It elicited increased frontal theta activity during obstacle exploration and reduced parieto-occipital alpha activity during system decisions, suggesting prioritization of the system’s decision. Conversely, monitoring unreliable systems elicited decreased parieto-occipital beta activity during exploration and reduced scalp-wide gamma activity during decisions, indicating earlier information processing and reduced attention to unreliable decisions. The sense of agency was preserved under high reliability. However, alpha suppression correlated with felt control only in this condition, suggesting participants relying on automation processed less information during obstacle exploration. These findings clarify how OOTL factors shape system supervision and offer insights for real-time detection.