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Luiz Hogrefe

AnyVerify

Research prototype on claims and the evidence behind them

Research prototype · unpublished

Does the available evidence actually support a specific claim, attribute by attribute, and how should a system say so when it cannot tell?

Research concept on anylai.eu

Overview

36tests in the repository

AnyVerify compares the attributes of a claim with the attributes found in its evidence, using declared comparison profiles. Each check has one of four outcomes, and each attribute ends up corroborated, contradicted or insufficient, until review resolves it.

The discipline is honesty about the unknown. A check that could not be performed is insufficient, never contradicted, and a result that cannot be scored carries no score rather than a zero.

The six prototypes share one application kernel in the AnyLAI repository: cases, a hash-chained event timeline, evidence with provenance and three timestamps, tasks and authority acts. Each prototype adds only its own vocabulary and rules.

Evidence matrix

Evidence matrix

Origin declaration · shipment 7

  • Country of originCORROBORATED
  • ProducerCORROBORATED
  • Harvest dateINSUFFICIENT
  • QuantityCORROBORATED

Select a cell to cycle its outcome

Select a cell to change what a source says, and watch the result follow the rules.

Text description of the diagram

A matrix for an origin declaration. Rows are attributes: country of origin, producer, harvest date and quantity. Columns are sources: the declaration, a certificate and an invoice. Each cell shows a check outcome. The final column shows the result per attribute: corroborated when sources match, contradicted when one mismatches, insufficient when a check could not be made.

Building blocks

  • Claim

    A statement with attributes, such as an origin declaration.

  • Comparison profile

    A versioned declaration of which attributes are compared and how: exact, text, number, date or presence.

  • Check

    One comparison, with the outcome MATCH, MISMATCH, ABSENT or INCONCLUSIVE.

  • Result

    CORROBORATED, CONTRADICTED, INSUFFICIENT, RESOLVED_BY_REVIEW or PENDING.

  • Agreement ratio

    A named method that summarises checks. It is not a probability.

An origin declaration

  1. 1

    A declaration states the country of origin, producer, harvest date and quantity.

  2. 2

    The certificate matches the country and the producer; the invoice matches the quantity.

  3. 3

    The harvest date appears in no source that could be compared: the attribute is insufficient, not contradicted.

  4. 4

    A reviewer resolves it with a new document, and the result records that review decided it.

How it differs

  • AnyVerify ≠ AnyValidResearch prototype · unpublished

    AnyValid asks an authoritative external source. AnyVerify compares the evidence already at hand.

    AnyValid

  • AnyVerify ≠ AnyTraceResearch prototype · unpublished

    AnyTrace records custody over time. AnyVerify judges a claim at a point in time.

    AnyTrace

Status

Research prototype · unpublished

Research prototype in the AnyLAI repository with two reference comparison profiles. Unpublished, not deployed, not run on real data.

Limitations

  • Agreement between sources is corroboration, not proof.
  • It compares what it is given; it does not look evidence up.
  • A result is not a certificate.

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