Glossary entry

Irreversibility index

Definition

The share of system actions that cannot be undone. Aim to keep this as low as possible through reversibility and graceful degradation.

Targets & breach behavior. Measurement window: weekly p95; monthly median. Target / floor / ceiling: target ≤ 1%, floor ≤ 2%, ceiling 5%. Owner: traceable ownership (required). Breach action: invoke ethical circuit breakers, activate rollback lanes, or trigger safe pause. Public surface: receipts and time transparency on irreversible boundaries.

Related mechanisms

Related terms

Exposure score Reversal cost Irreversibility The principle of low-failure-load design
Cite this glossary entry · v1.17.1 · updated Oct 6, 2026 · CC BY-SA 4.0

APA

Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). Irreversibility index. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/irreversibility-index

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute. "Irreversibility index." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/irreversibility-index.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute. "Irreversibility index." Ethotechnics glossary. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/irreversibility-index.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_irreversibility-index,
  title={Irreversibility index},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/irreversibility-index},
  version={v1.17.1}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Irreversibility index
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/irreversibility-index
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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