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Stoppability

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

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Quick takeaways

A system's ability to halt harmful processes quickly, safely, and deliberately—without requiring heroism or escalation.

Definition

A system's ability to halt harmful processes quickly, safely, and deliberately—without requiring heroism or escalation. Stoppability pairs ethical interrupts with measurable time-to-halt targets and clear operator authority.

Strong stoppability means stop paths are rehearsed, observable, and usable under stress—not hidden behind exceptional permissions.

AgencyVisibility
Scope
C. Ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do). Design requirements that keep people safe when systems scale.
Genealogy
Adapts safety engineering stop controls to moral risk and accountability.

Adjacent terms

Ethical Interrupts Time-to-Halt (TTH) Fail-Safe Mode

Related concepts

Also tagged: Agency

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

Also tagged: Visibility

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

Example corpus

  • A dispatch platform can pause automated routing citywide within minutes when false-priority signals spike, while preserving manual override for emergency coordinators.

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). Stoppability. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/stoppability

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Stoppability." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/stoppability.

Chicago

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

BibTeX

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

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Stoppability
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/stoppability
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.