As artificial intelligence increasingly mediates decisions in public administration, finance, security, and regulatory enforcement, accountability gaps emerge where responsibility becomes diffused across socio-technical systems. This article examines how AI-assisted governance reshapes decision authority, often creating the illusion of neutral delegation while obscuring answerability. By analysing automation bias, institutional over-reliance on algorithmic recommendations, and the erosion of clear responsibility chains, the article argues that accountability in AI-assisted governance cannot be reduced to compliance roles or technical controls. Instead, accountability must be treated as a reconstructible governance process, capable of tracing decisions across data, models, human interventions, and institutional incentives. Drawing on contemporary AI governance frameworks and policy-oriented research, the analysis highlights the distinction between governing of AI systems and governing with AI systems, showing how automated outputs increasingly participate in institutional decision-making. Without explicit responsibility architectures, such as traceable decision paths, justification requirements, and contestability mechanisms, automation risks accelerating not only efficiency, but also normative fragility and democratic accountability loss. The article concludes that effective AI-assisted governance depends on preserving human judgment, institutional responsibility, and decision legitimacy, positioning accountability as a structural prerequisite rather than an afterthought in automated governance environments.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the information environment in which democratic systems operate, accelerating the erosion of public trust through disinformation, deepfakes, and automated influence operations. This article examines how AI-driven manipulation undermines democratic safeguards by destabilising evidentiary standards, weakening institutional accountability, and amplifying uncertainty within public discourse. By integrating perspectives from cybersecurity, digital forensics, and AI governance, the analysis shows how synthetic media and algorithmic amplification transform disinformation from a communication problem into a systemic governance challenge. Deepfakes erode the shared foundations of proof, while AI-enabled content distribution exploits platform vulnerabilities and compromised data ecosystems, blurring the boundary between cyber operations and information warfare. The article argues that effective AI governance must function as a form of democratic defence, embedding forensic traceability, evidentiary validation, and institutional oversight into the lifecycle of AI systems that influence public perception. Without these safeguards, AI risks becoming an unaccountable actor in democratic processes, accelerating legitimacy crises and institutional fragility. The study concludes that restoring public trust requires governance models capable of translating technical detection into credible, transparent, and contestable decision-making.
Artificial intelligence governance is often reduced to technical compliance, obscuring its core function: the governance of decisions that carry institutional, legal, and social consequences. This article argues that effective AI governance is defined not by conformity to technical requirements, but by the legitimacy of AI-assisted decisions within public and organisational frameworks. By integrating insights from AI governance, digital forensics, and decision accountability, the analysis shows how compliance-driven approaches can coexist with governance failure when responsibility becomes diffused across systems, data pipelines, and human actors. The article reframes AI governance as a decision-centred practice, where explainability, traceability, contestability, and proportionality are essential to preserving authority and trust. Drawing on contemporary governance standards and policy research, the article highlights the distinction between governing of AI systems and governing with AI systems, demonstrating why legitimacy depends on reconstructible decision pathways rather than technical assurance alone. It concludes that governing AI means governing how institutions decide, ensuring accountability, oversight, and defensible reasoning in AI-assisted environments.

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