Discretion, justification, and legitimation in contemporary urban decision making. A reflection on the role (and risks) of urban AI

In the face of urban artificial intelligence, what is expected for urban planning is the emergence of automation as an unprecedented paradigm. While there is no lack of conflicting opinions on the dissemination of AI, the paper proposes a reflection on the impact of this technology on three distinctive features of urban decision-making: discretion, justification, and legitimation. Drawing on Luigi Mazza’s theoretical endeavors, the research argues that urban decision-making cannot be reduced to the logic of automation. Mainly because of the inherent discretionary character of choices within the planning arenas, the decision-making process is deeply conditioned by discursive strategies. Given such premises, AI deserves to be carefully framed. To do this, the paper inquiries into artificial intelligence’s genealogy, so to outline a consistent definition as emerging from relevant literature. Yet, to grasp AI’s overreaching epistemological, technical-operational, and ethical-political implications, it is convenient to frame it within the wider debate on the rise of a new science of the city (of which AI constitutes one of the undisputable pillars). Following the assessment of discretion in planning decision-making, the paper indulges on the current disciplinary discourse around AI, shedding light on the possible risks inherent to the paradigm of automation.