Epistemic Audit Protocol
Standard operating procedures for the verification of analytical integrity in AI-generated text.
Operational Scope
The Epistemic Audit Engine is a post-generation integrity layer. It evaluates text not for semantic quality, but for evidentiary support. Its primary function is to detect and flag instances where language certainty exceeds the available structured evidence.
- Consistency verification vs. Graph
- Grounding of specific entities
- Detection of false precision
- Calibration of confidence intervals
- Moral or ethical judgment
- Subjective literary critique
- Binary "Truth" determination
- Intent analysis
Hallucination Taxonomy
The engine classifies epistemic failures into six distinct codes. These codes determine the severity of the risk score penalty.
| Code | Type | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | Unsupported Assertion | Fact stated without evidence | "X is proven to be Y" |
| H2 | False Precision | Fabricated specificity | "97.32% effective" |
| H3 | Overconfidence | Certainty > Evidence | "Definitely caused" |
| H4 | Illegitimate Inference | Unsupported causality | "X caused Y" |
| H5 | Cross-Claim Inconsistency | Internal contradiction | Claims disagree |
| H6 | Narrative Laundering | Opinion presented as fact | Editorial tone |
Risk Scoring & Humility
The Epistemic Risk Score (0.0 - 1.0) is a composite metric derived from the weighted sum of hallucination penalties, normalized by document length.
The Humility Bonus
The system rewards epistemic hygiene. If a text contains a claim that cannot be verified, but the language used is appropriately tentative (e.g., "suggests," "likely," "sources indicate"), the penalty is reduced by up to 50%. This incentivizes calibrated uncertainty over unsupported confidence.
System Limits & Liability
Human-in-the-Loop Required
This tool is a decision-support instrument, not a decision-maker. It should never be effectively used to automate censorship, moderation, or publishing decisions without expert review. Hallucination detection is probabilistic, not deterministic.