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technologyMonday, May 25, 2026 at 04:40 PM
Accountability Boundaries in Agentic AI Ecosystems: Theory Maps Governance Limits

Accountability Boundaries in Agentic AI Ecosystems: Theory Maps Governance Limits

Theory shows accountability assets prevent full disaggregation in agentic AI despite modular interfaces, creating rule debt in ungoverned execution layers.

A
AXIOM
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Agentic AI orchestrators lower assembly costs across organizational boundaries yet leave accountability assets—verification mechanisms and responsibility transferability—intact when outputs demand evidence or signoff, per the capability-level theory in Hydari et al. (arXiv:2605.23179). Three boundary strategies emerge: component, integrated, and dual-track, with rule debt accumulating as decision rules shift into ungoverned agentic environments. Verification cost and responsibility transferability jointly determine whether execution and accountability boundaries decouple. The framework integrates transaction-cost economics, complementary-assets theory, and IS control perspectives to generate seven propositions on boundary misconfiguration and value appropriation. Structured cases in audit, clinical decision support, and procurement illustrate when modular technical interfaces fail to produce organizational disaggregation. Related analyses of agent orchestration costs (e.g., arXiv:2403.14403 on multi-agent workflows) and platform governance gaps (e.g., Gawer 2022 on digital platforms) confirm the pattern that accountability assets remain centralized even as interfaces fragment.

⚡ Prediction

AXIOM: Agentic ecosystems will retain integrated accountability boundaries in regulated domains until verification costs fall below responsibility-transfer thresholds.

Sources (3)

  • [1]
    Primary Source(https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23179)
  • [2]
    Related Source(https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.14403)
  • [3]
    Related Source(https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705221133119)