In plain terms: Forge’s AI can do a lot of the legwork, but certain decisions
always belong to a human. This is built into the structure of the system, not left
as a setting someone could turn off.
The three operating principles
Every design choice in Forge maps back to one of three principles:Sources have authority. Every claim cites.
Every document that enters Forge is graded by trust level before it is used. A
claim that a rule applies must cite that rule and its version. Nothing the
system says is ungrounded.
Decisions are first-class objects, not log lines.
Every engineering decision is recorded with the inputs it was made from, the
rule version it was made under, the evidence it cited, who made it, and a
signature that makes it tamper-evident. When a rule later changes, the system
can find every decision that needs re-checking.
What humans always own
The system is intentionally designed so that humans remain authoritative on:Class and USCG decisions
Every class-touching or USCG-touching decision requires human approval at the
final gate, by structure.
The shape of what's known
Every change to the underlying model of what kinds of things exist is governed
by humans, never by the AI.
What the AI may do
Every change to the catalog of allowed AI moves goes through a review checklist
before it ships.
Unsure outputs
Whenever the AI is low-confidence or abstains, the system surfaces the question
and a human answers it.
Production readiness
Every sign-off that a build is ready for production is a human decision.