[sorokod]

There is a pattern where accountability is outsourced by bureaucrats to software (they are supposed to be accountable for) and the citizens.

The Post Office Scandal has a similar theme.

[cornholio]

It's a pretty sweet deal: we can't be responsible for something that the software does, since we are not programmers; meanwhile, the software provider has a thick contract that says he can't be held legally or financially responsible, so he's happy to take the political hit, it's not like it would prevent them from getting another contract in the future. It's like being the Ticketmaster of administrative accountability.

[sorokod]

That is where accountability differs from responsibility. It is the business of the government to make sure that:

* the contract with the software vendor is free of the kind of fuckery you mentioned

* the product it has signed off on at the end of the processes is fit for purpose.

Lawyers and programmers are responsible for crafting contracts and software. The government is accountable for the end result.