Erthat

Erthat is a fictional term used in speculative discourse to describe a hypothetical framework for auditing and interpreting the ethical relevance of decisions made by autonomous systems. It is not a real, standardized technology but a construct employed in thought experiments and governance debates to explore how decision making could be transparent and contestable.

In the erthat concept, an external decision ledger records for each action: the goals considered, the options weighed, the chosen course, and counterfactuals that were not taken. The ledger is designed to be tamper-evident and potentially cryptographically signed, while the system provides an explanatory interface that maps each decision to normative criteria such as safety, fairness, and legality. Proponents view erthat as a tool to enable accountability without requiring AI to reveal proprietary internal models.

Applications are discussed in AI governance, robotics, and automated decision support where traceability of rationale is valued. Variants in speculative literature distinguish between a minimal erthat that logs only outcomes and a full erthat that also documents ethical criteria, stakeholder input, and regulatory constraints.

Critics raise concerns about practicality, privacy, and the risk that an external audit trail could be gamed or misinterpreted, or that the required level of detail could impede real-time operation.

Because erthat is not an established standard, references appear in hypothetical case studies and academic thought experiments rather than in production deployments. Related topics include explainable AI, auditability, and algorithmic transparency.