Shadow Governance and the Attribution Void: Designing Emotionally-Aligned Decision Systems for Synthetic Institutions

This working paper explores the emerging phenomenon of shadow governance, decision-making processes within synthetic institutions that operate without clearly attributable human actors. As artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems increasingly take part in governance structures, the question of attribution becomes a critical ethical and structural concern.<br>This paper introduces the concept of Emotionally-Aligned Decision Systems (EADS), a framework that re-centers decision-making on affective resonance, empathic feedback, and dynamic moral alignment. Case examples from Indonesia (e.g. digital welfare verification and e-KTP) illustrate the global urgency of emotionally-attuned institutional design.