Artificial Intelligence and the Rule of Law: Rebuilding Constitutional Accountability in the Algorithmic State

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly mediates decisions once reserved for human judgment, reshaping the architecture of governance and the foundations of constitutional accountability. The rule of law—long the moral and institutional bedrock of constitutional democracies—faces an unprecedented challenge in the algorithmic state. Administrative and judicial processes now rely on opaque predictive systems that often lack transparency, traceability, and normative restraint. This paper argues that while AI enhances efficiency, its unchecked integration threatens fundamental principles of legality, due process, and equality before the law. Drawing from legal theory, comparative constitutionalism, and emerging governance models, it examines how algorithmic decision making disrupts traditional checks and balances, undermines procedural justice, and complicates the enforcement of constitutional rights. The study contends that rebuilding constitutional accountability in an algorithmic age requires embedding rule-of-law values—transparency, fairness, and explainability—within technological systems themselves. It proposes a framework for “constitutionalized algorithms,” in which human oversight, normative transparency, and data ethics converge to preserve legitimacy. The analysis situates AI governance within a broader debate on digital constitutionalism and calls for a new interpretive synthesis that reconciles efficiency with constitutional morality.