Human agency vs artificial intelligence and decentralized platforms: Is there a challenge for the public administration system in Ukraine and worldwide?

This article explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and platform technologies on the concept of human agency in the context of the transformation of the public administration system. The aim was to analyse the risks of delegating decision-making to algorithms and to search for ways to preserve human subjectivity in the new technological conditions. The foundation was the idea of “responsible research and innovation” and the concept of “technological mediation”. The use of AI in public administration creates risks of “algorithmic governance” and loss of human control. The opacity of AI systems calls into question the principles of democratic accountability. In response, regulatory and ethical principles for the use of AI are being developed, but doubts remain about the system’s readiness to operate under conditions of opacity. The article analysed the impact of AI and platforms on key dimensions of human agency. It explored the risks of narrowing the space for individual initiative and self-regulation due to passive reliance on the advice of AI assistants. At the same time, the potential of AI in structuring human self-reflection by identifying unconscious emotional and behavioral patterns was noted. These effects were illustrated using the hypothetical integration of AI capabilities into the work of the Ukrainian state-owned platform “Diia” under the “government as a platform” model. The analysis demonstrates that while personalised AI assistants may expand civic engagement by easing administrative burdens, they can also confine citizens’ choices by actively “nudging” them toward specific behaviors. The danger of technocratic distortion of the democratic process was noted in the case of large-scale delegation of aspects of political participation to algorithmic systems. Finally, the article concluded that AI development, combined with decentralised platform solutions, may profoundly affect multiple dimensions of human agency. Whether these changes expand or limit personal autonomy largely depends on the values and objectives that developers embed in the system’s architecture. An orientation towards the public good and the development of human potential can make such solutions emancipatory technologies. The practical value of this study lies in the development of recommendations for adapting the public governance system to the challenges posed by the implementation of artificial intelligence and platform technologies, with a focus on preserving human agency, democratic accountability, and ethical decision-making