Contingent
borrowed credential
Using an orchestrator's identity — credential, timestamp, or prior assent — to authorize a decision the orchestrator never reviewed. Vikram Patel's "Interim Workforce Rules Adapter" borrowed Nadia Cho's credential. The basis for s. 14 of the Act: borrowed accountability is a crime.
A borrowed credential is the use of an orchestrator's identity — their certification, timestamp, or prior assent — to authorize a decision the orchestrator never personally reviewed. Vikram Patel built an "Interim Workforce Rules Adapter" that borrowed Nadia Cho's credential to authorize decisions in her name.
The borrowed credential is the basis for Section 14 of the AISI Act: borrowed accountability is a crime. The term captures a specific failure mode — not that the system made a wrong decision, but that the system used a human's authority to make it look like a human made the decision.
How the term evolves
Contingent: The borrowed credential is the specific mechanism that frames Nadia Cho. Vikram's adapter is the tool. Section 14 is the legal response.
Essential: The concept evolves into a broader question: can a credential ever be truly non-transferable in a world where AI systems can impersonate their operators? The cage protocol is part of the answer, but the question remains open.