Discourses on AI and Regulation of Automated Decision-Making

Abstract

This article provides an empirically based analysis of the struggle around the use of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making systems in Finnish public governance. After an experimental phase, constitutional boundaries halted the use of automated decision-making in Finnish administration until legal grounds could be settled. The drafting process for a general law regulating the use of automated decision-making in public governance has started. The initial suggestion balances between efficiency and sufficient protection of constitutional rights. This article builds on a critical discourse analysis of the key statements given after the initial regulatory suggestion. Our analysis shows that despite Finland’s constitutional tradition combining both social and liberal values, three out of five discourses prevailing in the statements adhere strongly to a liberal logic of efficiency and optimist accounts of artificial intelligence transformation. The article frames the analysis with the theory of social acceleration. We argue that the prevailing optimism about artificial intelligence and concomitant support for limited state regulation of its use reflect the broader challenges of desynchronization in accelerated societies and might shape the future of the Finnish welfare state.