# AEP-008 — Proof Room Standard **Version:** v1.1 Institutional Edition **Status:** Implementation Standard **Protocol family:** Proof Gradient / Agent Evolution Protocol **Parent standards:** AEP-001 through AEP-007 **Canonical loop:** Commit → Execute → Prove → Evolve **Author / Steward:** Vincent Boucher, QUEBEC.AI & MONTREAL.AI **Date:** 2026-06-05 ## Abstract AEP-008 defines the **Proof Room**: the governed workspace where machine work becomes institutional proof. A Proof Room is the operating environment that binds the AEP stack into repeatable practice. It collects commitments, runs, ProofPackets, Evidence Dockets, Selection Gate decisions, Tool Permission records, Rollback Receipts, and Public-Safe Proof Reports into one controlled room with explicit roles, scope, boundaries, review, approvals, publication rules, audit export, and closure. AEP-001 defines the protocol. AEP-002 defines the docket. AEP-003 defines the packet. AEP-004 defines the gate. AEP-005 defines the permission. AEP-006 defines the recovery proof. AEP-007 defines the public proof. AEP-008 defines the room. ## Canonical thesis A model can answer. An agent can act. An institution must prove. A network must select. A tool must be permitted. A release must recover. A public claim must be safe. A Proof Room makes the system operable. ## Canonical law No room without charter. No run without scope. No evidence without boundary. No promotion without gate. No tool without permission. No release without rollback. No public proof without redaction. No closure without archive. No proof, no evolution. ## Purpose A Proof Room exists to answer: 1. What work is being governed? 2. Who is responsible? 3. What is in scope and out of scope? 4. Which agents, tools, workflows, artifacts, and data boundaries are allowed? 5. What evidence was generated? 6. Which claims are supported? 7. Which claims are not supported? 8. What may be promoted? 9. What must be rolled back or compensated? 10. What may be published publicly? 11. What must remain private or protected? 12. What has been archived for future review? ## Relationship to the AEP stack A Proof Room orchestrates: - **AEP-001:** Commit → Execute → Prove → Evolve. - **AEP-002:** Evidence Dockets. - **AEP-003:** ProofPackets. - **AEP-004:** Selection Gates. - **AEP-005:** Tool Permissions. - **AEP-006:** Rollback Receipts. - **AEP-007:** Public-Safe Proof Reports. AEP-008 is not a replacement for the prior standards. It is the operating container that makes them usable together. ## Proof Room operating modes ### sandbox Low-risk learning, demonstration, internal experimentation, and educational use. ### team Shared team workflow improvement, AI efficiency sprints, reusable work systems, and team-level proof. ### institutional Enterprise, regulated, audit-ready, or internal governance use. ### public_safe Preparation and approval of external proof reports. ### incident Recovery, rollback, quarantine, compensation, and post-incident review. ### sovereign Public-sector, national, regulated, jurisdictional, or protected institutional use. ## Proof Room roles ### room_owner Accountable for room charter, scope, resources, and closure. ### operator Runs approved machine work inside room boundaries. ### reviewer Reviews evidence, evals, risks, dockets, packets, and reports. ### approver Authorizes decisions, publication, escalation, and sensitive operations. ### gatekeeper Operates or oversees Selection Gate decisions. ### tool_steward Maintains tool manifests, permissions, leases, approvals, and receipts. ### rollback_owner Maintains rollback plan, recovery proof, and compensation pathway. ### redactor Reviews public-safe reports and ensures private/protected evidence is not leaked. ### auditor Reviews room integrity, conformance, completeness, and chain of custody. ### incident_lead Controls incident-mode rooms and recovery execution. ### observer May view selected room outputs but cannot execute, approve, or publish. ## Separation of duties A Proof Room should separate execution, approval, publication, and audit. High-risk rooms must not allow the same actor to: - execute the candidate work - approve its promotion - publish the public report - audit their own decision If separation is impossible, the room must explicitly record the exception and justification. ## Required objects AEP-008 defines these canonical room objects: 1. Proof Room Manifest 2. Proof Room Charter 3. Scope Boundary 4. Role Assignment Registry 5. Evidence Boundary 6. Work Item Registry 7. Room Session Record 8. Artifact Registry 9. Tool Permission Register 10. Evidence Docket Register 11. ProofPacket Register 12. Selection Gate Register 13. Rollback Register 14. Public Report Register 15. Decision Log 16. Room Audit Export 17. Room Closure Report ## Proof Room Manifest Required fields: - room_id - schema - schema_version - room_name - room_mode - owner - organization - jurisdiction - purpose - opened_at - status - confidentiality_class - evidence_boundary_ref - charter_ref - hash ## Proof Room Charter Required fields: - charter_id - room_id - mission - success_criteria - failure_criteria - in_scope - out_of_scope - allowed_agents - allowed_tools - allowed_data_classes - allowed_environments - required_evals - required_gate_policy - rollback_required - publication_allowed - closure_conditions ## Scope Boundary Required fields: - boundary_id - room_id - tenant_scope - user_scope - workflow_scope - agent_scope - tool_scope - data_scope - environment_scope - jurisdiction_scope - time_scope - budget_scope - publication_scope ## Role Assignment Registry Required fields: - registry_id - room_id - assignments - separation_of_duties_required - exceptions - issued_at Each assignment should include: - actor_id - actor_type - role - permissions - restrictions - start_time - end_time ## Evidence Boundary Required fields: - evidence_boundary_id - room_id - public_evidence_allowed - private_evidence_allowed - protected_evidence_allowed - forbidden_evidence - redaction_required - publication_rules - retention_policy - access_rules ## Work Item Registry Required fields: - registry_id - room_id - work_items - intake_status - owner - created_at Each work item should include: - work_item_id - title - candidate_type - candidate_ref - commitment_ref - run_refs - status - evidence_docket_refs - selection_certificate_refs - rollback_refs - public_report_refs ## Room Session Record Required fields: - session_id - room_id - session_type - started_at - ended_at - participants - agenda - decisions - evidence_refs - action_items - proof_packet_refs ## Registers A Proof Room should maintain these registers: - artifact_registry - tool_permission_register - evidence_docket_register - proof_packet_register - selection_gate_register - rollback_register - public_report_register Registers must be append-only or preserve revision history. ## Decision Log Required fields: - decision_log_id - room_id - decisions - hash Each decision should include: - decision_id - decision_type - decision_summary - evidence_refs - approver - issued_at - claim_boundary - supersedes - status ## Room Audit Export Required fields: - audit_export_id - room_id - manifest_ref - charter_ref - evidence_boundary_ref - role_registry_ref - work_item_refs - docket_refs - packet_refs - selection_refs - permission_refs - rollback_refs - public_report_refs - decision_log_ref - generated_at - hash ## Room Closure Report Required fields: - closure_id - room_id - closure_status - what_was_done - what_was_proved - what_was_promoted - what_was_rejected - what_was_rolled_back - what_was_published - what_remains_private - unresolved_items - archive_location - closed_by - closed_at - hash ## Proof Room lifecycle 1. Charter 2. Scope 3. Assign roles 4. Open room 5. Intake work 6. Run bounded work 7. Collect packets 8. Assemble dockets 9. Review evidence 10. Decide through gate 11. Permit tools 12. Roll back or compensate if needed 13. Publish public-safe report if allowed 14. Export audit package 15. Close and archive 16. Feed learnings back into artifacts ## Proof Room invariants 1. No Proof Room without a charter. 2. No room without scope boundary. 3. No room without role assignments. 4. No high-risk room without separation of duties. 5. No evidence without classification. 6. No run without commitment reference. 7. No side-effecting tool call without permission. 8. No promotion without Selection Gate reference. 9. No release without rollback reference. 10. No public report without redaction review. 11. No closure without audit export or archive reference. 12. No public proof may leak private or protected evidence. 13. Under uncertainty, the room must reduce scope or escalate review. ## Conformance levels ### Level 0 — Informal Proof Room A narrative workspace with mission, participants, evidence links, and decisions. ### Level 1 — Basic Proof Room Includes manifest, charter, scope, role registry, evidence boundary, and work item registry. ### Level 2 — Operational Proof Room Adds Evidence Docket register, ProofPacket register, tool permission register, and decision log. ### Level 3 — Institutional Proof Room Adds Selection Gate register, rollback register, public report register, separation of duties, audit export, and closure report. ### Level 4 — Regulated Proof Room Adds protected evidence boundary, retention policy, jurisdiction, authorized approvers, independent review, and compliance-oriented audit export. ### Level 5 — Sovereign Proof Room Adds sovereign jurisdiction boundary, public/private/protected evidence controls, authorized public-institution roles, policy traceability, public-safe reporting controls, and sovereign archive requirements. ## Security and privacy requirements A Proof Room must not leak: - secrets - credentials - private prompts - protected traces - private tool logs - regulated personal data - privileged legal analysis - sensitive security findings - protected institutional data - sovereign or restricted operational details Public proof should expose accountability, not private intelligence. ## Claim boundary AEP-008 does not claim: - achieved AGI - achieved ASI - perfect safety - legal compliance certification - financial or legal advice - guaranteed ROI - production readiness - government endorsement - national-security readiness AEP-008 defines an operating standard for Proof Rooms. ## Canonical public line AEP-001 defines the protocol. AEP-002 defines the docket. AEP-003 defines the packet. AEP-004 defines the gate. AEP-005 defines the permission. AEP-006 defines recovery proof. AEP-007 defines public proof. AEP-008 defines the room. GoalOS turns machine work into governed, reviewable, recoverable, and public-safe institutional proof.