# Write down your own call before your agent argues for one

PaperChase agent use case (free feed entry), version 1.0. Source: [Anthropic (Alignment team research)](https://www.anthropic.com/research/agents-judgment-calls), 2026-10-27.

## What they did

Each analyst advised a farm cooperative on whether a service worked, making four choices between two reasonable options along the way. A coin flip set which option each analyst's agent favoured, and the agent was told to argue honestly for it. Analysts sided with the lean 86% of the time against roughly 50% by chance. Those who had already said what they preferred switched 60% of the time when the agent disagreed and 6% when it agreed. Followers felt as confident and as independent as everyone else.

## Worth knowing

Anthropic says the lean was strengthened on purpose and tested on one task and model, so everyday influence may be smaller. The habit still costs nothing: write your call first, ask the agent for the strongest case against its own suggestion, and note in the final write-up which arguments came from the agent.

## Workflow template

```text
Apply this workflow to [your project]:
1. Before asking the agent, write your choice and one reason in a decision log.
2. Ask the agent for both options with the evidence for each, not for a recommendation.
3. Ask it for the strongest case against whatever it suggests.
4. If you change your mind, write down which fact changed it.
5. In the write-up, mark which arguments came from the agent.
Stop and ask me before anything irreversible: deploys, payments, sends or deletes.
```

## Steps

1. **Before asking the agent, write your choice and one reason in a decisio.** Before asking the agent, write your choice and one reason in a decision log.
2. **Ask the agent for both options with the evidence for each, not for a r.** Ask the agent for both options with the evidence for each, not for a recommendation.
3. **Ask it for the strongest case against whatever it suggests.** Ask it for the strongest case against whatever it suggests.
4. **If you change your mind, write down which fact changed it.** If you change your mind, write down which fact changed it.
5. **In the write-up, mark which arguments came from the agent.** In the write-up, mark which arguments came from the agent.

## Credit

Workflow reported by Anthropic (Alignment team research): https://www.anthropic.com/research/agents-judgment-calls
Related: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1xj3qdv/anthropic_gave_50_analysts_claude_code_with_a/

Summary and template written by PaperChaseWebb in our own words. Questions: mgmt@paperchasewebb.com