Abstract
Machine systems can correctly record authority, evidence, or control state while the consequence of a concrete action still depends on unresolved system state. Consequence Closure makes that residual dependence an assurance target. At a declared action cut, it asks whether all admissible realizations consistent with current evidence yield the same specified consequence. When they do not, relational counterexamples expose distinctions that remain material. Over a finite candidate vocabulary, the resulting distinguishing sets form a materiality hypergraph whose inclusion-minimal transversals are exactly the sufficient semantic obligation sets. A finite CEGIS procedure either returns one such set or certifies that no sufficient set exists within the declared vocabulary. Obligations remain separate from realizable Establishments (observations or interventions) and from Routes that use them to reach closure. To prevent source abstractions from preserving final decisions while corrupting partial-state assurance, the note defines P0/P1/P2 preservation levels for closure, obligations, and Routes. A preregistered differential against Cedar 4.12.0 confirmed exact P1 over the frozen bounded surface with zero post-outcome semantic repair; separate Linux, SQLite, filesystem, and OAuth commissioning tests probe operative and evidence semantics at real action cuts. An inspectability contract carries results, witnesses, replay identity, and qualifications without strengthening the underlying claim.
Research artifacts
The Technical Note is the publication of record for the research argument. Consequence Closure Inspector v0.5.0 is the separately archived reference implementation for inspecting supported closure profiles, materiality witnesses, obligation certificates, declared Routes, and assurance qualifications.
- Technical Note
- Full text PDF
- Software
- Consequence Closure Inspector v0.5.0 · Zenodo software archive
Scope and record relationship
The Zenodo Technical Note record is the persistent archival record for this publication. The RISU hosted PDF is an institutional full text mirror of that record, not a new edition.
The Consequence Closure Inspector v0.5.0 software record is a separate archived research artifact. The Cedar result is limited to the frozen bounded P1 surface reported in the Technical Note. The commissioning results remain limited to their reported systems, paths, configurations, and evidence surfaces.
Citation
Moon Lee, “Consequence Closure: Semantic Assurance at the Machine Action Boundary,” RISU Technical Note 2026-03, RISU Institute, 2026. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22095709
- Technical Note DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22095709
- Software DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22095595