AI Technologies and the Reconfiguration of Discretion in Street-level Bureaucracy

Peter Andre Busch, Helle Zinner Henriksen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

In this chapter, we review scholarly research on AI technologies in street-level bureaucracy and introduce the concept of ‘algorithmic discretion’ to define a new technology-supported paradigm in street-level discretion. We suggest that algorithmic discretion drives three major trends in public administration which affect key values and operating principles of street-level bureaucracy negatively: (1) the de-skilling of street-level bureaucrats, (2) the prevalence of “automated inequality”, and finally (3) challenges related to rendering algorithmic decisions accountable, transparent and explainable in a technological context where the complexity of models and the opacity of their in-built biases and flaws are such that explanations for decisions are ever harder to give. Through a critical examination of these issues, this chapter offers insights into how algorithmic discretion has reconfigured street-level work during the last two decades and discusses the implications of these changes for future street-level bureaucracy research.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHandbook on Public Policy and Artificial Intelligence
EditorsRegine Paul, Jennifer Cobbe
Number of pages13
Place of PublicationCheltenham
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing
Publication date2024
Pages80-92
Chapter6
ISBN (Print)9781803922164
ISBN (Electronic)9781803922171
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Artificial intelligence
  • Algorithms
  • Discretion
  • Street-level bureaucracy
  • Critical analysis

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