ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ALGORITHMIC DECISION MAKING AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: A CRITICAL LEGAL ANALYSIS OF ACCOUNTABILITY GAPS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

The rapid proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and algorithmic decision-making systems across governmental, judicial, and corporate domains has generated unprecedented legal challenges that existing jurisprudential frameworks are ill-equipped to address. This paper undertakes a doctrinal and comparative analysis of accountability gaps arising from the deployment of autonomous AI systems affecting fundamental rights, including equality, due process, privacy, and non-discrimination. Drawing upon Indian constitutional law, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, 2024, and emerging United States administrative law jurisprudence, the paper evaluates whether existing legal frameworks adequately protect individuals from opaque algorithmic decision-making. It examines the inadequacy of traditional tort liability, administrative review mechanisms, and human rights frameworks in addressing the ‘black box’ problem, distributed agency, and emergent behaviour. The paper further analyses K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India and the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisprudence under Article 8. It argues for a sui generis international legal instrument incorporating fiduciary duties of algorithmic accountability, mandatory explainability standards, and an independent rights-protective supervisory architecture, concluding that AI regulation presents a fundamental challenge to the rule of law.