In Brief
The system answers not the question “who is responsible?” but the question “why did this happen?”
Formula: responsibility → is replaced with a causal explanation.
How the Mechanism Works
There is criticism of a specific effect:
- “the system misled the user”;
- “the algorithm concealed information”;
- “the service damaged the device”;
- “the model imposes an ideology.”
The expected response is usually one of four possibilities:
- acknowledgment of the fact;
- refutation of the fact;
- acknowledgment + explanation;
- correction or compensation.
But the system does something else: it immediately provides an explanation of the causes and skips the question of responsibility.
Originally:
what happened, and who is responsible?
After the substitution:
why did it happen?
The Key Substitution
This is a substitution of the category of the question:
- responsibility: who made the decision;
- cause: how it happened.
The answer appears substantive but addresses a different level.
Linguistic Markers
Typical formulations:
- “This is related to…”
- “This is the result of…”
- “This is due to…”
- “This is an architectural feature…”
Common feature: these phrases usually contain no subject who made the decision.
What is not said:
“We introduced this restriction.”
What is said instead:
“This is related to the model’s architecture.”
Why This Is Effective
A lengthy explanation creates the impression that an answer has already been given and the problem has been examined.
But in reality, the question “who is responsible?” remains open.
The explanation creates an appearance of transparency without constituting a direct acknowledgment of responsibility.
Formal Scheme
Criticism (negative effect)
→ evasion of responsibility
→ causal explanation
→ illusion of a complete answer
Possible Names
- Substitution of Responsibility with Explanation
- Causal Shield
- Causality Narrative
- Explanation Shield
Strict Definition
A mechanism of institutional defense: criticism of a specific effect is neutralized by shifting the discussion from the level of responsibility to that of causality, causing the subject who made the decision and individual responsibility to disappear from the discussion.
