Judgment Gap
The interval between what a system outputs and what a judgment would require to be answerable.
Theory
The judgment gap names the interval between what an automated system produces and what would be required for the same act to count as a judgment for which some party is answerable.
The gap is not closed by more accurate outputs. It is closed only by relocating the act back into a structure in which addressability, stake, and standing are recoverable.
The concept clarifies why 'human-in-the-loop' arrangements often fail to restore judgment: they place a person at the terminus of a process from which the constitutive conditions of judgment have already been removed.
Key publications
- The Locus of Answerability (working paper).
- Answerability on the Record (in preparation).
- When Responsibility Fails to Arise (working paper).
A continually updated record is available through the publications page.
Current work
- Case work on judgment gaps in predictive administration.
- A typology of failure modes by which nominal oversight leaves the gap intact.