Glossary entry

Externalization

Definition

Pushing risk, cost, or harm onto other teams, communities, or the future so internal metrics look clean. Externalization appears as pollution, shadow labor, or brittle dependencies outside audits.

Ethotechnics counters it with oversight horizons, burden and reversal measures, and transparent repair logs.

Diagnostic

Tests that show it is in place

  • Costs that land on downstream teams arrive with resources and an owner.
  • Audits cover the dependencies where harms are reported.

Related terms

Extraction Precision laundering Harm internalization Externalized harm channels
Cite this glossary entry · v1.17.1 · updated Oct 6, 2026 · CC BY-SA 4.0

APA

Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). Externalization. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/externalization

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute. "Externalization." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/externalization.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute. "Externalization." Ethotechnics glossary. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/externalization.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_externalization,
  title={Externalization},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/externalization},
  version={v1.17.1}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Externalization
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/externalization
ER  -

Authorship

Contact: hello@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Oct 6, 2026
  • Version: v1.17.1

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title and version, and link to the glossary permalink.

Archive: Wayback Machine history

Latest change

v1.17.1 · Oct 6, 2026 — Editorial revision. Titles are in sentence case. Pasted spec blocks are replaced with prose and worked examples, 79 operational tests are rewritten as pass conditions, 22 origin notes are rewritten or sourced, and unsourced superlatives are cut. No terms were added or removed, and permalinks are unchanged.

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