The social cost of technological efficiency
Artificial Intelligence, invisible discrimination and the protection of fundamental rights
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12662/2447-6641oj.v24i45.6424.pe6424.2026Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Rule of Law, algorithmic discrimination, fundamental rights, technological efficiencyAbstract
Context: The widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents an unprecedented challenge to the traditional model of the Rule of Law, driving a transition towards an algorithmic State model. In this new scenario, the priority given to technological efficiency places consolidated fundamental rights at serious risk.
Objectives: To analyse the socio-legal tensions arising from the automation of decision-making, rigorously evaluating the resilience of the Spanish constitutional order and the European regulatory framework against growing algorithmic defencelessness.
Methodology: A dogmatic and socio-legal analysis of the Spanish Constitution, the European AI Regulation (AI Act), and the incipient work of supervisory agencies such as the AESIA is employed. The study focuses on the technical-legal obstacle of the black box and algorithmic bias.
Results: A structural conflict between high-risk predictive systems and fundamental rights is evidenced. The infringement of privacy through the extractivist processing of data and of the principle of equality through indirect discrimination camouflaged via proxies stand out. Furthermore, technological opacity, shielded by trade secrets, generates an information asymmetry for citizens.
Conclusions: It is imperative to promote a guarantee-oriented constitutional reinterpretation that enshrines algorithmic transparency and the reservation of humanity. Effective judicial protection demands redefining technological governance, guaranteeing socio-legal control and unavoidable human supervision over automated decisions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Daniel Martínez Cristóbal
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