Human Tool: An MCP-Style Framework for Human-Agent Collaboration

Abstract: Human-AI collaboration faces growing challenges as AI systems increasingly outperform humans on complex tasks, while humans remain responsible for orchestration, validation, and decision oversight. To address this imbalance, we introduce Human Tool, an MCP-style interface abstraction, building on recent Model Context Protocol designs, that exposes humans as callable tools within AI-led, proactive workflows. Here, "tool" denotes a coordination abstraction, not a reduction of human authority or responsibility. Building on LLM-based agent architectures, we operationalize Human Tool by modeling human contributions through structured tool schemas of capabilities, information, and authority. These schemas enable agents to dynamically invoke human input based on relative strengths and reintegrate it through efficient, natural interaction protocols. We validate the framework through controlled studies in both decision-making and creative tasks, demonstrating improved task performance, reduced human workload, and more balanced collaboration dynamics compared to baseline systems. Finally, we discuss implications for human-centered AI design, highlighting how MCP-style human tools enable strong AI leadership while amplifying uniquely human strengths.