Decision Provenance

Plain-language definition

Decision provenance supports explanation, attribution, review and correction.

The definition is intentionally bounded. It identifies the property or role under discussion without converting terminology into a claim of deployment, recognition, personhood, citizenship, sovereignty, or authority.

Technical definition

Within the K01 knowledge model, Decision Provenance is represented as a stable term object with code K01-TERM-046, canonical URL, claim status, topic owner, source links, related terms, last-reviewed date, research cutoff, and correction state. Relevant implementation components for the owning topic include decision provenance; authority maps; knowledge records; intervention windows; model and software versions; incident timelines; appeal.

Legal or policy use

Existing liability regimes differ and often place duties on organizations, operators, manufacturers or deployers; conclusions require facts and jurisdiction.

When a statute, regulation, standard, or external institution uses a different definition, that source-specific meaning controls the analysis of that source. The project definition is not silently substituted into current law.

What the term implies

The term implies that the stated property should be evaluated using the evidence appropriate to causal attribution, authority, fault, remedy, due process, sanctions and institutional responsibility. It supports precise reference, comparison, data exchange, and correction across public prose and machine records.

What the term does not imply

A log of outputs alone is not complete provenance and does not determine liability automatically.

It also does not convert a valid signature, credential, database record, model hash, or website into factual truth or legal authority without additional evidence and a competent decision.

Commonly confused terms

• Accountability
• Due Process
• Notice
• Hearing
• Appeal
• Remedy

Confusion is resolved by asking which property is actually at issue: technical control, continuity, evidence, authority, legal recognition, operation, or normative status.

Operational test

1. Name the subject and purpose.
2. Identify the source definition and jurisdiction or technical context.
3. Collect evidence for the specific property.
4. Record currentness and limitations.
5. Route any governance, registry, assurance, or capital decision to the proper authority.

Related questions

• How should liability be attributed when autonomous systems cause harm?
• What does “attribution before punishment” mean?
• What evidence is needed after an autonomous failure?
• How can a Machine Intelligence challenge a continuity decision?
• What is meaningful notice for a Machine Intelligence?
• What is an effective remedy for unauthorized cognitive modification?
• How should state responsibility be recorded for a contractor cyber operation?

Sources

• PROV-O: The PROV Ontology — W3C; W3C Recommendation 30 April 2013; W3C Recommendation. Exact claim-support entries: 2. Revalidated 2026-08-14T22:04:09Z.
• Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0) — NIST; AI RMF 1.0; Published voluntary framework; revision underway. Exact claim-support entries: 2. Revalidated 2026-08-14T22:04:09Z.
• European Union Artificial Intelligence Act information portal — European Commission; EU Artificial Intelligence Act implementation page, updated through 2026-08-14 research cutoff; Current law and official implementation guidance. Exact claim-support entries: 3. Revalidated 2026-08-14T22:04:09Z.

Stable term code: K01-TERM-046. Last reviewed 2026-08-16.