---
title: "Automated decision-making (ADM)"
description: "A decision about a person taken by automated means."
canonical: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/automated-decision-making-adm
author: "Jorge García Aibar"
license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)"
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197
version: "0.5.0"
updated: 2026-09-25
---

# Automated decision-making (ADM)

A decision about a person taken by automated means. GDPR Article 22 restricts decisions based solely on automated processing with legal or similarly significant effects [1]; after the SCHUFA judgment, a score that lenders treat as determining is itself such a decision [2].

- Developed in: [ch. 19, GDPR Article 22 after SCHUFA](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/privacy-and-ai#gdpr-article-22-after-schufa)
- Chapters: [ch. 16, Fairness & XAI](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/fairness-and-explainability) · [ch. 19, Privacy & AI](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/privacy-and-ai)
- In the glossary chapter: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/glossary#t-automated-decision-making-adm

## Sources

[1] Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) (Arts. 4(1), 4(5), 4(7), 4(8), 4(12), 4(14), 5, 6, 9, 12(3), 22, 25, 28(2) and 28(4), 30, 33, 35; Recital 26). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2016-04-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj/eng (verified: primary)
[2] Press release No 186/23: judgment in Case C-634/21, SCHUFA Holding (Scoring) (a credit score is an automated individual decision where lenders give it a determining role). Court of Justice of the EU. 2023-12-07. https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-12/cp230186en.pdf (verified: primary)