AI glossary
Solely automated decision
Also called automated decision-making, ADM.
A solely automated decision is one taken with no meaningful human involvement, as UK GDPR Article 22A defines it. A significant one, with a legal or similarly significant effect on someone, must come with safeguards, including a way to contest it, and one using special category data is more tightly restricted (Article 22B).
Think of it as
A form that marks itself, and nobody reads it before the letter goes.
Why it matters at work
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 brought these rules in on 5 February 2026, and the ICO’s guidance was still a draft on 29 October 2026. If AI rejects a job applicant with nobody meaningfully involved, the Article 22C safeguards apply; approving everything unread doesn’t count.
Sources
- UK GDPR Article 22A: automated decision-making (opens in a new tab) legislation.gov.uk, read 29 October 2026.
- UK GDPR Article 22B: restrictions on decisions based on special category data (opens in a new tab) legislation.gov.uk, read 29 October 2026.
- UK GDPR Article 22C: safeguards for automated decision-making (opens in a new tab) legislation.gov.uk, read 29 October 2026.
- The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (opens in a new tab) legislation.gov.uk, 29 January 2026.
- ICO consultation on the draft guidance about automated decision-making, including profiling (opens in a new tab) Information Commissioner’s Office, 31 March 2026 (closed 29 May 2026).