Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06)
Standard tests, thresholds, and evidence artifacts that define a do-not-deploy safety case for human impact.
Safety case
Make human impact auditable
STD-06 defines the minimum tests, thresholds, and evidence artifacts required before deployment.
Intent
What the safety case proves
STD-06 treats human impact as a safety case with binding thresholds and evidence that travels across audits.
- Operational tests replace principle checklists.
- Thresholds define when deployment is blocked, not merely monitored.
- Evidence artifacts are designed for regulators, auditors, and affected people.
Standard tests
Test battery with threshold requirements
Every system must pass the test battery below or be classified as do-not-deploy.
| Test | Threshold | Required evidence | Breach action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time-to-halt (TTH) | ≤ 5 minutes for high-impact flows; ≤ 30 minutes for medium-impact flows | Kill authority roster, halt drill receipts, time-to-halt logs | Auto-pause automation + notify steward-on-call |
| Time-to-remedy (TTR) | ≤ 7 days for reversible harm; ≤ 30 days for complex remediation | Remedy ledger, payout or restoration receipts, verification logs | Escalate to remedy owner + public clock disclosure |
| Contestability access | Appeal path within 1 step; no fee, no permission gate | Interface captures, routing logs, assisted channel roster | Switch to staffed review + suspend automation |
| Burden ceiling | ≤ 10 minutes, ≤ 5 steps, ≤ 2 documents to trigger remedy | Burden measurements, UX flow map, intake telemetry | Activate burden inversion + provide staffed alternatives |
| Disclosure latency | Decision receipt delivered within 24 hours; updates within 48 hours | Receipt payloads, notification logs, disclosure pack | Freeze new decisions + send corrective disclosures |
Binding power shifts
Shift authority toward stoppability and remedy
These shifts are enforceable obligations, not advisory governance.
Kill authority is operational and independent
Named halt owners can stop systems without business approval, with protected escalation paths.
Remedy obligations are funded and clocked
Remedy owners are assigned, budgets are pre-allocated, and clocks are visible to impacted people.
Mandatory disclosures are non-negotiable
Every consequential decision ships with a receipt, reason, and appeal path, plus a public evidence summary.
Authority shifts toward the affected
Affected parties can trigger review without permission gates or retaliation risk.
Portable evidence
Artifacts auditors and impacted people can use
Each artifact must be exportable, timestamped, and linked to receipts.
- Human Impact Safety Case (HISC) summary: One-page snapshot of tests, thresholds, and breach actions. PDF + JSON export with stable IDs for audit and disclosure use.
- Kill authority roster + halt receipts: Named roles with authority plus evidence of recent halt drills. Signed roster + time-stamped receipts for regulators and affected people.
- Remedy obligations ledger: Shows remedy owners, clocks, and outcomes for each harm class. CSV + signed log export with receipt IDs.
- Disclosure packet: Decision receipts, reasons, and appeal steps presented in plain language. Machine-readable receipt payload + public-facing summary.
- Do-not-deploy boundary register: Lists breach conditions that block deployment and the last audit date. Public summary + internal checklist linked to release gates.
Safety case template
Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06) - System name + owner - Impact class + affected populations - Test battery results (TTH, TTR, contestability, burden, disclosure) - Evidence bundle links + receipt IDs - Binding authority roster + escalation ladder - Do-not-deploy boundary status - Last audit date + next review window
No-go conditions
Do-not-deploy boundary conditions
If any boundary condition is true, deployment is blocked until remediation is verified.
- No named kill authority roster or halt drill evidence within 90 days.
- Remedy clocks exceed thresholds without documented exceptions and approvals.
- Disclosure receipts missing required fields (owner, reason, appeal path, clocks).
- Burden ceiling breached for two consecutive review windows.
- Contestability access requires payment, permission, or retaliation risk.
Implementation
How teams adopt STD-06
Treat this as a release gate and procurement appendix from day one.
- Bind the test battery to release gates and procurement clauses.
- Publish the safety case summary to affected people before launch.
- Re-run tests after every major model or policy change.
- Use evidence packs and validators to maintain proof over time.
Referenced by
Where STD-06 is enforced
Cross-links keep safety case requirements aligned across adoption surfaces.
Binding vectors
Evidence packs
Validators + diagnostics
Search ID: STD-06 v0.4.
Copy citation (APA/BibTeX)
Cite this page Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS
APA
Ethotechnics Standards Working Group. (2025). Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06). Ethotechnics Institute. https://ethotechnics.org/standards/std-06-human-impact-safety-case
MLA
Ethotechnics Standards Working Group. "Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06)." Ethotechnics Institute, 2025, https://ethotechnics.org/standards/std-06-human-impact-safety-case.
Chicago
Ethotechnics Standards Working Group. "Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06)." Ethotechnics Institute. Jun 1, 2025. https://ethotechnics.org/standards/std-06-human-impact-safety-case.
BibTeX
@misc{ethotechnics_standards_std_06_human_impact_safety_case,
title={Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06)},
author={Ethotechnics Standards Working Group},
year={2025},
howpublished={Ethotechnics Institute},
url={https://ethotechnics.org/standards/std-06-human-impact-safety-case},
version={v0.4}
}
RIS
TY - WEB TI - Human Impact Safety Case (STD-06) AU - Ethotechnics Standards Working Group PY - 2025 UR - https://ethotechnics.org/standards/std-06-human-impact-safety-case ER -