When an algorithm determines your future, who is accountable when it gets things wrong?
Digitalization has transformed how power is exercised by governments, businesses and social institutions. Personal data are collected, combined and analyzed on an unprecedented scale, while algorithms help determine access to employment, credit, housing, healthcare, education, social security and information. Decisions are increasingly shaped not only by visible rules or human officials but also by databases, risk profiles, ranking systems, authentication procedures and automated recommendations. Legal context note (updated 9 August 2026). Digital decision-making in the Netherlands is already governed in part by the GDPR, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, sectoral EU and national law, and—subject to ratification and domestic effect—the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence727. The AI Act was amended in July 2026728. The constitutional question is therefore not whether regulation exists, but which durable guarantees should bind public power across tec...