Entry 24 of 44
Consent
consentire — to feel together; con (together) + sentire (to feel)
Latin
From Latin consentire: to agree, feel together. From con- (together) + sentire (to feel, perceive). Root concept: a meeting of genuine feeling and will — agreement that requires both awareness and volition.
Established meaning
In law and medical ethics: informed, voluntary agreement by a competent person. Valid consent requires: disclosure of material information, comprehension, voluntariness, and capacity. Consent obtained through omission, confusion, or coercion is not consent.
AI industry deployment
Clicking 'I agree' on terms of service documents averaging 10,000+ words. Consent collected at account creation for data uses not yet determined. 'Consent' operationalized as non-refusal — the absence of objection under conditions making informed objection practically impossible.
Semantic gap
Genuine will
Sentire — to feel, to perceive — requires that the consenting party actually apprehend what they are agreeing to. Consent collected through architectures designed to minimize comprehension is procedural compliance that erases the substantive requirement.