Validation and Guardrails
Guardrails decide whether an AI result is safe and complete enough to continue automatically.
Guardrails decide whether an AI result is safe and complete enough to continue automatically.
Check shape and allowed values.
Restrict what actions are possible.
Route uncertain cases to a person.
Understand the working model
Validation should happen before actions with side effects: sending email, changing records, publishing content or spending money. A simple allowlist often provides more safety than another AI prompt.
Guardrails should be deterministic where possible. Use code for hard rules and AI for tasks that actually require interpretation.
Practice
Apply the pattern above to one real task you already do. Keep the first version small enough that you can inspect every input and output.
Do not use a model to “approve itself” for a high-impact action.
Put deterministic checks between AI output and any action that can change the outside world.