No Certificate, No Categorical Speech Act: A Brouwerian Assertibility Constraint for Public Reason
arXiv:2603.03971v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Generative AI can convert uncertainty into authoritative-seeming verdicts, intensifying the hypersuasive force of automated speech and displacing the justificatory work on which democratic epistemic agency depends. As a corrective, I propose a Brouwer-inspired assertibility constraint for responsible AI: in high-stakes domains, systems may assert or deny claims only if they can provide a publicly inspectable and contestable certificate of entitlement; otherwise they must return Undetermined. This constraint yields a three-status interfa
The proliferation of generative AI and its capacity to produce seemingly authoritative but potentially unreliable output makes the need for robust AI assertibility constraints urgent.
This proposal addresses a fundamental challenge in AI governance by establishing clear standards for AI claims, directly impacting trust, accountability, and the integration of AI into critical decision-making contexts.
The proposed 'Brouwerian assertibility constraint' introduces a new ethical and technical requirement for AI systems, shifting the paradigm from 'AI asserts, humans verify' to 'AI asserts with verifiable entitlement, or remains silent'.
- · AI ethics researchers
- · Regulatory bodies
- · Industries requiring high-trust AI systems (e.g., healthcare, legal)
- · The public
- · Developers of opaque AI systems
- · Companies relying on AI making unsubstantiated claims
- · Disinformation actors
- · Users who prefer immediate, unchecked AI answers over nuanced, verified ones
AI developers will need to integrate new architectural components or methodologies to generate 'certificates of entitlement' or indicate 'Undetermined' for claims.
The public's trust in AI factual assertions will likely increase in domains where such constraints are applied, while also highlighting the limitations and uncertainties of AI.
This could lead to a two-tiered AI market: systems adhering to strict assertibility constraints for high-stakes applications and less constrained systems for lower-risk use cases, potentially influencing regulatory frameworks globally.
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Read at arXiv cs.AI