The Efficiency Paradox from the New Algorithmic Administrative Silence

ABSTRACT The emergence of new artificial intelligence (AI) legislation compels a re-evaluation of classic administrative law principles, moving beyond mere digitalization or e-administration. This article examines the impact of AI-driven automation in public administrations, through the lens of a specific legal construct: the Spanish doctrine of administrative silence. By juxtaposing this traditional legal concept with automated procedures, the analysis highlights the inherent contradictions that arise from the use of software in public governance. It questions whether the opacity in algorithmic decision-making might erode the very values that administrative law seeks to uphold. In response, this paper proposes a novel doctrinal framework termed: ‘Algorithmic Good Administration’. This framework is presented as an essential evolution in European Administrative law, designed to manage the transition towards full procedural automation while safeguarding fundamental legal values. Ultimately, ‘Algorithmic Good Administration’ offers a pathway to resolve the efficiency paradox, ensuring that technological advancement reinforces rather than undermines democratic principles.

KEYWORDS Algorithmic Silence - Algorithmic Good Administration - AI Act - Efficiency Paradox - RPA

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Legal implications of administrative procedures´ automation derived from the use of AI. – 1.1. The regulation of Artificial Intelligence: a fixed-point analysis. – 1.2. Regulatory adjustments will be accompanied by organizational adjustments in the case of AI-driven automated decision-making. – 1.3. Software as a tool and as an Actor: Typologies and Functions in Administrative Management. – 1.3.1. Revisiting the distinction between the scope of automation in regulated and discretionary decisions. – 1.3.2. Robotic Process Automation as a type of generalized Automation in its administrative application. – 1.3.3. Transparency Algorithmic and “Explainability” as Legal Imperatives and Meaningful Human Control in Automated Decision-making. – 2. Algorithmic Silence: new proposals around the institution of administrative silence. – 3. From the Mirage of Techno-Legal progress to the Efficiency Paradox. – 4. Conclusion