DIGITAL OVERSTIMULATION IN AI-MEDIATED ADMINISTRATION: ETHICAL AI DECISION-MAKING AND BUREAUCRATIC DECISION QUALITY

Abstract

reshaping how decision-makers access information, assess alternatives, and formulate decisions. While AI provides advantages in information processing and administrative support, continuous exposure to intensive digital stimuli may place excessive demands on attention and cognitive resources. This challenge is particularly important in bureaucratic environments, where effective decisions must accommodate efficiency, ethical responsibility, fairness, accountability, and coordination. Despite growing scholarly attention to technology overload, AI ethics, and decision quality, these research streams have largely developed independently, leaving limited understanding of how Digital Overstimulation is associated with Bureaucratic Decision Quality through Ethical AI Decision-Making. Addressing this gap is important for understanding how decision-makers maintain decision quality and ethical integrity under increasing digital pressure. A quantitative cross-sectional approach was adopted, involving 90 respondents with experience in administrative or bureaucratic decision-making and digital or AI technologies. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire containing nine indicators across three constructs and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0. The results demonstrate that Digital Overstimulation significantly affects Bureaucratic Decision Quality and Ethical AI Decision-Making, while Ethical AI Decision-Making significantly affects Bureaucratic Decision Quality. Moreover, Ethical AI Decision-Making significantly mediates the relationship between Digital Overstimulation and Bureaucratic Decision Quality. Future studies should examine larger and more diverse samples, longitudinal designs, human oversight, AI transparency, and reliance on algorithmic recommendations.