For independent Assayers
Assess AI engagements independently, against a published standard
An Assayer is an accredited, independent organisation or qualified individual that assesses specific AI implementation engagements against the published standard. The Foundation accredits Assayers against a published Accreditation Standard; it does not assess engagements itself.
Accreditation criteria
Competence, process, independence and standing
Accreditation can be held by an organisation, or by a qualified independent, that can demonstrate the competence to assess an engagement against the standard and the independence to do so without favour. The criteria cover four things: technical competence in the methodology and its gates; a documented, repeatable assessment process; the independence to reach and record an adverse finding; and the standing to be relied upon by a third party reading the Register.
The criteria are the same whoever holds the accreditation — a university, an assurance firm or an individual expert — so that a Hallmark from one Assayer means exactly what a Hallmark from another means.
Continuing audit
Accreditation is held, not awarded once
An accredited Assayer is subject to continuing audit: its assessments are reviewed against the standard, its independence is re-examined, and its findings are sampled for consistency. Where an Assayer falls short, its accreditation may be suspended or withdrawn. Because the Register is permanent, engagements it has already assessed remain on it, and the change in the Assayer’s standing is itself recorded.
The Assayer’s cipher
Who assessed the work, on the face of the identifier
Each accredited Assayer is allocated a short cipher. The cipher is the Assayer’s mark within the Hallmark, and the final segment of the stable identifier of every engagement that Assayer assesses, in the form AF-YYYY-NNNN-XXX.
A reader therefore does not need to open the record to know which Assayer stood behind a Hallmark: the cipher is in the identifier, and the identifier is on the Register. The cipher scheme is awaiting final technical and legal sign-off.
Specimen — illustrative, not certified
The conflict rules
No stake in the outcome
Independence is the whole value of an assessment, and it is protected by a plain rule: an Assayer may not assess work in which it holds a commercial interest. It may not assess an engagement it helped to build, sell or resource; it may not assess the work of a delivery firm or Practitioner in whose outcome it has a stake; and it may not let a commercial relationship colour a finding.
The rule is auditable. An Assayer declares its interests, and an assessment made in breach of the conflict rules is grounds for suspension.
In one line