Ch. 4 — Transparency and the Right to Know

Every compliance framework covered in this book requires transparency — not because regulators coordinated, but because opacity is the root of almost every compliance failure involving automated systems.

When a human makes a consequential decision, the reasoning is accessible in principle. Ask them. Review the notes. Check the email chain. The trail exists because humans naturally leave records — written rationale, tracked approvals, documented criteria.

When an agent makes the same decision, the trail doesn't exist by default.