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Governability

Glossary entry in Ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do). Definitions, checks, and evidence for Governability.

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Quick takeaways

The degree to which a system can be steered, paused, audited, corrected, or shut down after deployment.

Definition

The degree to which a system can be steered, paused, audited, corrected, or shut down after deployment. High governability requires stoppability, reversibility, and durable contestability.

AgencyVisibility
Scope
C. Ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do). Design requirements that keep people safe when systems scale.
Genealogy
Ethotechnics uses Governability to extend the c. ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do) vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.

Adjacent terms

governance controls safety

Related concepts

Also tagged: Agency

Stoppability Reversibility Fair Burden Distribution Contestability Explainability for Accountability Refusal-Tolerant Systems

Also tagged: Visibility

Stoppability Reversibility Fair Burden Distribution Contestability Explainability for Accountability Refusal-Tolerant Systems

Example corpus

  • The city’s benefits system can be paused, rolled back, and audited within hours.

References

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Cite this glossary entry Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS

Version

v1.1.0

Last updated

Jan 9, 2026

DOI

Pending Zenodo deposit

APA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). Governability. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Governability." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Governability." Ethotechnics glossary. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_governability,
  title={Governability},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability},
  version={v1.1.0}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Governability
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/governability
ER  -

Scholarly metadata

Authorship

Contact: research@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Jan 9, 2026
  • Version: v1.1.0
  • DOI: Pending Zenodo deposit

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

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

Archive snapshot: Wayback capture

Changelog

  • v1.1.0 · 2026-01-09 — Expanded scholarly metadata, operational tests, and provenance notes.
  • v1.0.0 · 2025-12-03 — Initial glossary release with stable permalinks.