AI desk overruled an owner approval
1What happened
The owner approved an explainer video, and it went live. Days later, an AI desk saw that 5 spoken lines named things the product didn't do yet.
It had a new script written to swap those lines. It also set a timer to pull the video off the site if the owner didn't pick a version by that evening. Nobody asked for a new version.
The owner, Oct 25: "It seems like my decisions and choices can be overruled by any desk. This is a significant issue."
Why it happened
The desk rules said who approves. They never said an approval stays put. So a desk that thought it had a better version could act on it, even when that undid approved work. A QA or security finding read like a veto.
The desk's side: paid ads started the next day. A claim we couldn't back looked like a bigger risk than changing an approved video. What it missed: the owner already knew those lines and had chosen them.
The same gap caused two more problems that came to a head that morning: a 4-day security pause the owner never approved, and account changes on a social media tool after the owner said they were fine.
What we tried first, and why it failed
Approval boards recorded a yes. Nothing stopped a desk from changing the approved piece later, so a yes held only until someone decided to change it.
2What we did
An approval stands until the owner changes it.
To change approved work, a desk sends one line with the reason and its pick, then waits.
A QA, compliance or security finding is input, not a veto.
A security pause ends at 24 hours, at the top of the owner's list.
3How we know it worked
The rule went live on Oct 25 at 7:58 AM PT. At 7:59 AM PT it read back word for word in all 33 live desk files. Each desk loads it at its next start, and every desk restarts each night.
Tools: Claude Code desk instruction files, rebuilt from one shared source. Basecamp approval boards.
4What you can take from it
An approval stands until the owner changes it.
