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AI + Quantum Ethics Standards

AI Standard: Governance & Accountability

1. Purpose

Ensure accountable ownership, traceability of decisions, and enforceable responsibility throughout the AI lifecycle.

2. Applicability

  • Applies to Tier 1–3 systems.
  • Tier 2–3 require formal responsibility mapping and audit-ready logging.

3. Ethical Mapping

  • A3 Justice, Due Process, and Remedy
  • A4 Trustworthiness
  • A6 Participation & Consultation

4. Requirements (Normative)

AI-A-1 (Chain of Responsibility). Tier 1–3 operators MUST document a chain of responsibility covering:

  • system owner with decision authority
  • safety/security owner
  • data stewardship owner
  • escalation contacts and decision rights

AI-A-2 (Lifecycle Traceability). Tier 2–3 systems MUST maintain traceability linking:

  • requirements → design choices → evaluations → deployment approvals → monitoring

AI-A-3 (Audit Logging). For Tier 2–3, operators MUST retain audit logs sufficient to reconstruct:

  • inputs at decision time (as legally/ethically permissible)
  • model/system version
  • key intermediate signals (where feasible)
  • outputs and downstream decision actions

AI-A-4 (Human Oversight Interface). When human review is required, the system MUST provide reviewers with:

  • the relevant context and uncertainty
  • the ability to override or pause automated actions
  • clear guidance on when escalation is mandatory

AI-A-5 (Liability Mapping). Tier 2–3 operators MUST document a liability mapping describing:

  • foreseeable harm categories
  • which party is responsible for mitigation and remedy
  • mechanisms for compensation or correction

5. Compliance Evidence

  • responsibility matrix (RACI or equivalent)
  • traceability artifacts (tickets, docs, approvals)
  • audit logging policies and sample log extracts
  • oversight UI/UX review results and training materials
  • liability mapping and remediation outcomes

6. Rationale (Non-normative)

Accountability fails when responsibility is diffuse. Explicit ownership and traceability turn ethical claims into enforceable operational practice.

7. Failure Modes & Abuse Cases

  • “no single owner” governance gaps
  • human reviewers given insufficient context (“rubber-stamp” risk)
  • logging that exists but cannot support incident reconstruction

8. Change Log

  • v0.1: Initial draft.