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ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Reclaiming Judgment in the Age of Generative AI: Design, Internalized Hierarchy, and Individual Agency

Authors: Marutani, Yuji;

Reclaiming Judgment in the Age of Generative AI: Design, Internalized Hierarchy, and Individual Agency

Abstract

Generative AI is predominantly analyzed through the lenses of automation, efficiency, and ethical risk. This paper shifts the analytical focus toward a more subtle transformation: the capacity of AI to reshape how individual judgment is exercised, experienced, and ultimately relinquished. Rather than replacing human decision-making outright, generative AI operates through recommendation, optimization, and "rational persuasion." These mechanisms do not coerce; instead, they quietly restructure the choice architecture in which decisions appear reasonable. Consequently, individuals may retain the subjective experience of autonomy while gradually delegating the epistemic boundaries of thought itself. Building on the critique of hierarchy as a visible structure of authority, this paper argues that contemporary decision environments increasingly rely on the internalization of hierarchy. Standards—such as efficiency, best practice, and optimization—migrate inward, becoming criteria that individuals adopt as their own. Generative AI accelerates this process by presenting outputs that appear neutral, comprehensive, and difficult to contest. The paper contends that the central challenge is not the presence of AI in decision-making, but the erosion of the conditions under which judgment remains necessary. Judgment is distinguished from mere choice; it is framed as a capacity that requires friction, uncertainty, and responsibility to persist. By reframing judgment as a practice shaped by design, this paper offers a new criterion for evaluating AI systems: whether they invite judgment or render it redundant. The future of human agency depends less on technological capability than on the design choices that determine how the act of deciding is made to "feel.

Keywords

Judgment, Generative AI, Internalized Hierarchy, Decision-making, Agency, Design Ethics

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green