How it works

Follow an action from the authority granted to an agent through to a receiving organisation’s decision.

A safe action is not necessarily an authorised action

Guardrails can help an agent behave safely and follow local policy. When it requests an action across a trust boundary, the receiving system also needs to know whether the agent still has valid and sufficient authority for that action.

HOW IT WORKS

Workflow summary

  1. 01Agent’s organisation

    Authority is established

    Principalgrants authorityAutonomous agentDefined authorityScopeLimitsDuration
  2. 02Agent’s organisation

    An action is requested across a boundary

    Autonomous agentRequested actionTrust boundary
  3. 03Receiving system

    Current authority is verified

    Receiving systemusesplusChain verification infrastructureRelevant evidenceCurrent authorityChecks independently
  4. 04Receiving system

    The receiving organisation decides

    The verification result informs the decision

plusChain supplies the verification infrastructure. The receiving organisation retains the decision about whether to accept the action.

HOW IT WORKS

Detailed steps

  1. Authority is established

    An agent is authorised to act within defined scope, limits and duration.

    Return to workflow summary

  2. An action is requested across a boundary

    The agent requests an action in another system or organisation.

    Return to workflow summary

  3. Current authority is verified

    The receiving side independently checks whether authority is valid and sufficient. A completed check can find that authority is insufficient.

    Return to workflow summary

  4. The receiving organisation decides

    An action is withheld when authority is invalid or insufficient. The receiving organisation retains the business decision even when authority is sufficient.

    Return to workflow summary

DELEGATED AUTHORITY

Authority remains bounded as agents delegate

A parent agent can delegate narrower authority to a sub-agent. The sub-agent’s authority remains dependent on the parent’s current authority and can change when the parent’s authority changes.

Narrower authority remains connected to the parent authority

Authority source

Parent agent

Bounded authority

  • Scope
  • Limits
  • Duration

Parent authority changesAvailable sub-agent authority changes with it

  1. Delegated from parent

    Sub-agent A

    Narrower authority

    Dependent on current parent authority

  2. Delegated from parent

    Sub-agent B

    Narrower authority

    Dependent on current parent authorityRequesting sub-agent

  3. Delegated from parent

    Sub-agent C

    Narrower authority

    Dependent on current parent authority

The receiving side checks the requesting sub-agent’s current authority

  1. Requesting sub-agentRequests an action
  2. Receiving systemInitiates an independent check
  3. plusChain verification infrastructureChecks the relevant current authority independently

Decision retained by the receiving organisationThe verification result informs its decision.

FUTURE HORIZON

A future of bounded, verifiable authority

Looking ahead, autonomous systems will involve multiple agents and delegated relationships. plusChain is being developed as verification infrastructure through which receiving systems can independently check the current authority relevant to each requested action.

Five generic agent nodes connected through bounded, delegated relationships
  1. AgentBounded authority
  2. AgentNarrower authority
  3. AgentNarrower authority
  4. AgentDependent authority
  5. AgentDependent authority

Future-facing illustration · verification supports independent checks