Evidence — ETHRAEON

Purpose

ETHRAEON evidence architecture ensures every claim about AI system behavior can be cryptographically verified. Claims without evidence are rejected. Evidence without canonical sources is invalid. Sources without cryptographic seals are untrusted. This creates an unbreakable chain from assertion to verification, enabling auditors, regulators, and stakeholders to independently confirm system compliance.

Who This Is For

External Auditors: Third-party verification teams requiring independent proof that AI systems operate as documented. No trust required—verify cryptographically.

Data Protection Authorities: GDPR enforcement bodies and regulators needing demonstrable proof of compliance, not organizational assurances.

Enterprise Risk Teams: Internal audit, legal, and security functions responsible for validating AI governance claims before regulatory review.

What Problem This Solves

Conventional AI platforms make claims without proof. Organizations assert compliance through documentation, not evidence. When regulators demand verification, companies provide reports, not cryptographic chains. When incidents occur, audit trails are incomplete or have been altered.

ETHRAEON evidence architecture makes proof non-optional. Every AI decision generates a complete evidence chain: input capture, rule retrieval, constitutional evaluation, decision output, and canonical seal. Chains are immutable. Verification is independent. Trust is replaced with cryptographic certainty.

Why ETHRAEON Is Different

Other platforms treat evidence as an audit afterthought. Logs are generated but not sealed. Records exist but can be modified. Documentation is plentiful but unverifiable.

ETHRAEON makes evidence generation inseparable from operation. Every action creates immutable proof. SHA256 hashes prevent tampering. IPFS anchors provide distributed verification. Canonical records preserve complete history. Evidence is not created for audits—it is the operational output of the system itself.

Evidence Chain Flow

1

Claim

Assertion made about system capability, decision, or compliance property. Example: "This AI deployment meets GDPR data residency requirements." Claim must reference canonical evidence before acceptance.

2

Source

Canonical document supporting the claim. Sources exist in append-only Canon: constitutional rules, deployment receipts, configuration snapshots, or audit logs. Each source has SHA256 hash and IPFS anchor.

3

Verification

Independent confirmation that source supports claim. Verification involves: (1) Retrieving source from Canon, (2) Validating SHA256 hash, (3) Confirming IPFS anchor, (4) Checking source content matches claim. No trust required—purely cryptographic.

4

Trail

Complete path from claim through sources to verification recorded in canonical log. Trail includes timestamps, authority signatures, hash chains, and IPFS anchors. Immutable. Append-only. Independently verifiable by external parties.

Technical Foundation

SHA256 Cryptographic Sealing

Every artifact sealed with SHA256 hash. Any modification changes hash, invalidating evidence. Verification requires exact hash match. No possibility of undetected tampering.

IPFS Distributed Anchoring

Critical receipts anchored to InterPlanetary File System. Content-addressed storage ensures global verifiability. Evidence exists beyond single organizational control.

Append-Only Canonical Record

Historical records cannot be deleted or modified. Only forward-moving additions permitted. Complete provenance preserved. Audit history immune to retroactive alteration.

Trinity Evidence Management

Core system managing claim-to-source-to-verification paths. Enforces evidence requirements. Rejects unverifiable claims. Maintains cryptographic integrity across evidence chains.

Trace Decision Logging

Complete decision audit trails from input through constitutional evaluation to sealed output. Every step logged. Every rule application recorded. Every authority verification preserved.

Archive Long-Term Storage

Immutable historical records with compliance-mandated retention. Evidence preserved for regulatory review periods (typically 7+ years). Cryptographic integrity maintained across storage migration.

Verification Process

External parties verify ETHRAEON evidence independently:

1. Retrieve Canonical Receipt: Access public Canon endpoint or IPFS gateway. No authentication required for verification-only access.

2. Validate SHA256 Hash: Compute hash of retrieved document. Compare to published hash. Exact match required.

3. Confirm IPFS Anchor: Retrieve same content from IPFS network using published CID. Content must match exactly.

4. Trace Evidence Chain: Follow references from receipt to source documents. Verify each link in chain. Confirm human authority signatures.

5. Validate Constitutional Rules: Confirm decision followed AC-1 authorized rule sets. Check rule versions. Verify deterministic execution.

Result: Cryptographic certainty of compliance, not organizational trust.