Consider what happens when we build highways, such as US 61 along the Mississippi River on the Minnesota side. Slopes are undercut in order to make space for the road, and slopes are therefore steepened. This results in a condition of instability. Mass wasting will occur to restore equilibrium. Downslope movement will continue until the critical angle is reestablished.
Humans act in another way to unwittingly cause mass wasting.
Mass wasting will ultimately occur to restore the slope to an angle less than critical. As a consequence, entire housing developments may be put at risk. So, we see that mass wasting is simply a response by natural systems to restore the equilibrium condition. If humans upset the equilibrium, nature will respond, sometimes with devastating results. You should read in the text the specific case studies that document such devastation.