This research identifies auditability as a core legitimacy condition for automated and distributed decision environments, linking governance, law, and system architecture.
Introduces the Delegation Threshold to specify when AI and digital infrastructure acquire governance-relevant authority. When discretionary functions are embedded in persistent, non-optional systems, users organise decisions around their outputs. Responsibility shifts upstream to architecture, integration, and oversight. details
Argues that as AI shifts from episodic models to persistent embedded infrastructure, governance cannot remain an optional overlay. Operational tempo turns delay into risk, diffusing accountability and exposing institutions to structural liability. Identifies minimal design conditions: contestability, revisability, halt-capacity, and traceability. details
Defines the Third Enclosure Movement as consolidation of control over AI datasets, models, compute, and evaluation through legal, technical, epistemic, and sovereign restrictions. Introduces a taxonomy of restricted knowledge and argues for commons-compatible reforms that preserve innovation while clarifying liability, strengthening auditability… details