Criminal liability of government members in AI-assisted public decision-making: ethical limits and legal accountability in the algorithmic era
Criminal liability of government members in AI-assisted public decision-making: ethical limits and legal accountability in the algorithmic era

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the transformations that the use of artificial intelligence systems produces on the legal liability of government members involved in the public decision-making process. In the context of the digitalization of administration and the use of algorithms to substantiate public policies, a tension arises between technological efficiency and the principle of personal responsibility of the public decision-maker. The study starts with a presentation of AI, continues with the traditional relationship between morality and law, as components of ethics, highlighting the fact that the partial delegation of decision-making evaluation to AI systems cannot lead to the exoneration of government members from criminal liability in the fulfillment of their mandate. The paper examines the risks generated by algorithmic opacity, the possibility of invoking technological error as an exoneration mechanism and the obligation of increased diligence of government members in verifying the digital tools used. In conclusion, it is necessary to develop a regulatory framework that integrates ethical requirements into legal standards of public decision-makers' liability, in order to prevent the transfer of liability from technology to the person.

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