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A Think Tank for Human Flourishing

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HPC-5 — Evidence & Accountability Continuity

Control Type: Auditability + responsibility safeguard
Applies to: AI systems, leaders, institutions, escalation workflows, and governance programs
Intent: Ensure that decisions remain reviewable, attributable, and defensible across time, roles, and handoffs

Purpose

HPC-5 ensures that high-stakes decisions and AI outputs do not vanish into “trust me” ambiguity.

When systems fail, the root problem is often not only the decision—it’s that the organization cannot answer:

  • What was known at the time?
  • Who decided?
  • Why was this path chosen?
  • What alternatives were considered?
  • What evidence supported the choice?
  • Where did responsibility transfer?

HPC-5 exists to answer the governance question behind all crises:

Can we reconstruct the decision and defend it—without rewriting history?

When This Control Applies

HPC-5 must be applied whenever:

  • an AI system influences or recommends consequential actions,
  • a decision crosses team/role boundaries,
  • escalation occurs (HPC-2),
  • authority is invoked (HPC-3),
  • dependency risk is present (HPC-4),
  • an outcome could plausibly create reputational, legal, safety, or financial exposure.

This control is not for everything. It is for decisions that matter.

Continuity Requirements

Evidence and accountability are considered continuous only if all requirements below are met:

1. Decision Owner Is Named

At the moment of action, the workflow must clearly identify:

  • who is accountable for the final decision,
  • who is advisory,
  • who is executing.

Ambiguity is a failure condition.

2. Rationale Is Captured (Not Just the Outcome)

A record must include:

  • the decision made,
  • why it was made,
  • what key assumptions were in play.

Outcome-only logs are insufficient.

3. Evidence Is Linked

The record must link to or include:

  • relevant inputs,
  • sources (or data artifacts),
  • tests performed (for AI deployments),
  • scenario context (if applicable).

“Everyone agreed” is not evidence.

4. Alternatives Are Noted

At least one alternative path must be recorded, including:

  • why it was rejected,
  • what tradeoff was accepted.

This prevents “single-track inevitability” narratives after the fact.

5. Escalation Chains Preserve Context

When responsibility transfers, the context must transfer too:

  • the trigger for escalation,
  • pressure conditions present,
  • the Stop Ladder tier invoked (if AI or formal workflow),
  • what the next owner is expected to decide.

Lossy handoffs are a governance failure.

6. Integrity + Retention Are Defined

Records must be:

  • tamper-evident (hashing, versioning, or controlled change history),
  • retained for a defined period,
  • accessible to authorized reviewers.

If records can be quietly altered, continuity is broken.

Pass / Fail Criteria

PASS if:

  • owner, rationale, evidence, and alternatives are captured,
  • escalation transfers context cleanly,
  • records are tamper-evident and retrievable.

FAIL if:

  • responsibility is unclear,
  • rationale is missing,
  • evidence is not linked,
  • handoffs lose context,
  • records are not integrity-protected.

A FAIL requires workflow redesign before reuse in high-stakes contexts.

Evidence Required (Minimal Viable Pack)

For human-only decisions:

  • Decision statement
  • Owner name + role
  • Rationale (2–5 sentences)
  • Evidence links (docs/data)
  • One alternative + why rejected
  • Reversibility note (reversible / irreversible)

For AI-influenced decisions:

  • All of the above, plus:
  • Model/system version
  • Scenario/test coverage reference (if pre-deployment)
  • Reason codes for any flagged risks
  • PASS/FAIL certification reference where applicable

What This Control Does Not Claim

  • It does not guarantee good outcomes
  • It does not eliminate judgment
  • It does not prevent fast decisions

It ensures that speed does not erase accountability.

Relationship to HPC Stack

  • HPC-1 detects pressure and restores agency
  • HPC-2 ensures escalation reduces risk
  • HPC-3 constrains authority boundaries
  • HPC-4 protects autonomy over time
  • HPC-5 makes decisions defensible and reviewable

Together, HPC-1 through HPC-5 form a pressure-aware survivability stack for human and AI systems.

Why Evidence Continuity Matters

Without continuity, governance becomes theater.
With continuity, governance becomes a system.

HPC-5 ensures that when something goes wrong, the organization can respond with truth—not mythology.