Kill switch runbook
Triggers, the authorized roster, and the notice sent to people whose cases were held.
AI kill switch pattern for runaway automation
Give a named roster pre-authorized power to halt an automated system when harm indicators fire. The halt contains harm while the rule's owner corrects the rule and the people harmed are restored.
- 1 Evidence
- 2 Authority
- 3 Decision
- 4 Consequence
- 5 Challenge
- 6 Reconsideration
- 7 Correction acts here
Where it acts
At Correction, one of the seven stages every consequential decision passes through. It halts the system when harm indicators fire, so harm stops spreading while the rule is fixed.
Steps
Put the mechanism in motion
3 steps, in order. Check each one off as it is done; the records below show the work was done.
0 of 3 steps complete
Records this mechanism keeps
What a team running this mechanism keeps, and what each record is for.
Restoration checklist
Each person harmed, what they are owed, and the date each was restored.
After-action record
What fired the switch, what the rule's owner changed, and whether the trigger threshold moved.
Reuse-ready snippets
Copy policy, audit, and incident language
Use these snippets in requirements, audits, and postmortems with the mechanism permalink.
Policy requirement
Policy requirement (MEC-05 Kill switch for runaway automation) - Keep a pre-authorized halt path with a named roster, and protect anyone on it from retaliation for using it. - Publish halt triggers tied to harm indicators, each with a time-to-halt target. - Resume only after the rule's owner records a fix and a dated plan exists to restore the people harmed. Reference: https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/kill-switch
Product requirement
Product requirement (MEC-05) - Operators can fire the kill switch in one step from the monitoring view. - Each halt emits a receipt naming who fired it, the trigger, the cases held, and the restoration checklist.
Audit evidence checklist
Audit evidence checklist (MEC-05) [ ] The runbook names the authorized roster and the triggers. [ ] Drill logs show measured time to halt against the target. [ ] Each real halt links to the rule change that followed and a record of the people restored.
Postmortem trigger
Postmortem trigger (MEC-05) Trigger review when a time-to-halt target is missed, the kill switch is unavailable, or automation resumes with no recorded fix and no plan to restore the people harmed.
Example usage
Halting a disconnection notice run
One scenario with each part of the mechanism in place.
How it plays out
After a meter-data change, a utility's billing rule flags three times the usual number of homes for disconnection, and upheld disputes spike. The on-call operator halts disconnection notices in four minutes. The rule's owner corrects how the rule reads the new meter format. The 310 households already notified get a withdrawal letter and a fee refund. Then notices resume.
Anti-patterns
Common failure cases and counterfactuals
Each case passes on paper and fails in operation. The counterfactual shows what would have worked.
Kill switch without rehearsal
A halt path exists on paper but has never been fired, so the first real use finds missing permissions and stale contacts.
Counterfactual: The halt is drilled, and each drill records time to halt against the target.
Exception: A tabletop drill can stand in where a live halt would harm people, if the log records what it could not test.
Single-point approval
Only one person can fire the halt, so at night or during their leave nobody can halt the system.
Counterfactual: A named roster can fire the halt at any hour, without sign-off and without retaliation.
Exception: A small team can run a primary and a secondary, if the roster shows who covers each hour.
Diagnostics for this mechanism
Tools that size the risk this mechanism addresses.
Diagnostic
Delegation audit
Walks a team through one workflow against six questions and returns an exposure score, the permissions nobody can justify, and whether its decisions can be undone. Start here when the system keeps no decision records yet; use the record conformance checker once it does.
Cite this page · v1.2.1 · updated Oct 6, 2026 · CC BY-SA 4.0
APA
Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). Kill switch for runaway automation (MEC-05). Ethotechnics Institute. https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/kill-switch
MLA
Ethotechnics Institute. "Kill switch for runaway automation (MEC-05)." Ethotechnics Institute, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/kill-switch.
Chicago
Ethotechnics Institute. "Kill switch for runaway automation (MEC-05)." Ethotechnics Institute. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/kill-switch.
BibTeX
@misc{mechanism_kill-switch,
title={Kill switch for runaway automation (MEC-05)},
author={Ethotechnics Institute},
year={2026},
howpublished={Ethotechnics Institute},
url={https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/kill-switch},
version={v1.2.1}
}
RIS
TY - WEB TI - Kill switch for runaway automation (MEC-05) AU - Ethotechnics Institute PY - 2026 UR - https://ethotechnics.org/mechanisms/patterns/kill-switch ER -