---
title: "Blog"
url: "https://demertis.com/blog"
description: "Notes from a research programme on the autonomous enterprise: why the last human in the loop is a signature, and what stops a machine owning anything."
---

# Blog

Notes from a research programme on the autonomous enterprise: why the last human in the loop is a signature, and what stops a machine owning anything.

September 4, 2026·2 min read

## [The last human in the loop is a signature](https://demertis.com/blog/the-last-human-in-the-loop-is-a-signature)

Most automation programmes stop at the same place, and it is not a technical boundary. Somebody has to be accountable, and accountability needs a person.

-   automation
-   accountability
-   approval

[Read article →](https://demertis.com/blog/the-last-human-in-the-loop-is-a-signature)

August 21, 2026·3 min read

## [Self-healing is not a feature, it is a different architecture](https://demertis.com/blog/self-healing-is-not-a-feature)

Bolting recovery onto a system that was designed to be repaired by people produces automation that fails in more interesting ways, not fewer.

-   self-healing
-   reliability
-   control loops

[Read article →](https://demertis.com/blog/self-healing-is-not-a-feature)

August 7, 2026·2 min read

## [Can a machine own anything?](https://demertis.com/blog/can-a-machine-own-anything)

Legal personhood for autonomous systems gets discussed as though it were arriving. It is not, and the reasons are more interesting than the proposals.

-   legal personhood
-   liability
-   regulation

[Read article →](https://demertis.com/blog/can-a-machine-own-anything)

July 24, 2026·3 min read

## [An autonomous system needs an off switch it cannot reach](https://demertis.com/blog/an-off-switch-that-survives-the-system)

The interesting property of a stop is not that it exists. It is that the thing being stopped has no path to observe, delay or depend on it.

-   kill switch
-   safety
-   supervision

[Read article →](https://demertis.com/blog/an-off-switch-that-survives-the-system)

July 10, 2026·2 min read

## [Why we call it an organism, and what that does not mean](https://demertis.com/blog/why-we-call-it-an-organism)

Biological language is useful for describing closed loops and self-repair, and it is the fastest route to claims nobody can support. Both are worth saying.

-   terminology
-   cybernetics
-   claims

[Read article →](https://demertis.com/blog/why-we-call-it-an-organism)