Draft pattern
Nobody Owns the Automated Decision
The tool acts with authority while responsibility is passed around the room.
How it starts
Automation is added to make decisions faster, more consistent or less dependent on a tired human queue. The promise is not usually reckless; it is often practical.
How it drifts
The decision starts arriving with borrowed authority. Staff can point to the system. Suppliers can point to the specification. Managers can point to the policy. The person affected can point to nobody in particular.
Why it survives
Ownership becomes fragmented because each part of the chain can plausibly say it only did its job. The decision is real, but responsibility has been sliced thin enough to slip through the gaps.
What to watch
Look for appeals processes where people can challenge the input, the policy or the output, but not the whole decision as experienced.
Questions worth asking
- Who can reverse this decision?
- Who understands the full path from input to outcome?
- What happens when the system is technically correct and substantively wrong?
- Where does a person go when the answer is no?
Comment carefully
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