Agentic AI & The Discretion Gap: Are We Automating Administrative Judgment?

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The conversation often focuses on efficiency as we rush to adopt agentic AI tools like Google’s Project Astra, which not only answer questions but also take independent actions. We talk about AI partners that can schedule our lives and manage our professional logistics. But in the public sector, we have to ask a harder question: When an AI agent takes an action, who is exercising discretion?

 

Recently, my colleague Annie Bui (DPA-C) shared a fascinating look at the future of these universal AI assistants. Her post sparked a vital question about how these tools fit into our daily professional lives as public administrators and researchers.

                                      View the original discussion on LinkedIn 

As a DPA student and public commissioner, I look at these tools through the lens of Administrative Chrononormativity. Institutional timelines are already rigid; they often exclude those with non-normative life cycles, caregivers, low-income residents, and those navigating the complexities of the behavioral health system.

If we move toward an agentic state where AI agents manage scheduling, service delivery, and follow-ups, we risk two major failures:

  1. As Michael Lipsky famously argued, the discretion of a human bureaucrat is often the only thing that makes a cold system human. Is it possible for an AI partner to make an exception for a grandmother who arrives five minutes late to a clinic due to a bus delay?

  2. Agentic AI moves in milliseconds. If our administrative systems begin to move at that speed, we further marginalize anyone who lives outside the "normative" digital clock. This isn't just a tech issue; it's a social justice issue.

The Nexus

We shouldn't fear the technology, but we must frame it correctly. An AI can be a powerful assistant, but it cannot be an administrator. Administrative discretion is a legal and ethical responsibility, one that requires a human soul to weigh the nuances of equity and community health. 

As we integrate these partners, we must ensure we aren't just building a faster bureaucracy but a more responsive one. Are we designing for the traveler’s convenience or the citizen’s due process?

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