Talk by Christoph Schranz (Universität Innsbruck): Rules, Norms, and Agency: The Structure of Normativity in Law and Automated Decision-Making

This presentation explores the structural difference between rules and norms, evaluating whether automating decision-making through Automated Decision-Making systems is a categorical error or a legitimate development. ADM systems can follow conditional, practise-dependent rules but cannot adhere to deontic, unconditional norms. The argument relies on a three-level architectural framework that traces the origin of rule validity to a fundamental, unconditional norm structure denoted as ‭O(p). The presentation argues that transitioning from a dyadic conditional norm to a material conditional rule inherently involves a “normative substance loss”, i.e. the erasure of the deontic operator. Consequently, human oversight is not merely a risk-mitigation strategy but a strict normative necessity, as human judgment provides the essential deontic access that ADM systems structurally lack.‬‬