When the Computer Says No: Investigating the Legitimacy of Automated Political Decisions.

Abstract

We are on the verge of a revolution in public sector decision-making processes, where computers will take over many of the tasks currently assigned to human bureaucrats. With it, the conditions for impartial and transparent treatment of citizens are changing. On the one hand, this advancementincreases the potential for making more accurate and efficient judgments due to increased capacity to process relevant information. On the other hand, there is a risk of an emerging black box society where citizens are being kept in the dark about the decision-making processes that affect their lives. We argue here for the need to study these emerging challenges from the perspective of the citizens, by experimentally investigating the legitimacy of automated decisions in the eyes of the public.