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:1
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. A reconstructed
component must cite the drawing sheets that established it. Nothing the system
says is ungrounded, and nothing is generated to fill a gap the sources left
open.
2
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.
3
AI proposes; humans decide; the gate is structural.
The AI can reconstruct, reconcile, measure, retrieve, compare, draft, flag, and
propose. It cannot be the engineering authority. Decisions touching Class,
Coast Guard rules, or safety always pass through a human approval gate. This is
not a setting that can be disabled.
What humans always own
The system is intentionally designed so that humans remain authoritative on:Class and regulatory decisions
Every decision touching Class or Coast Guard rules requires human approval at
the final gate, by structure.
Accepting a reconstruction
Reconstructed geometry is a proposal until an accountable person accepts it. It
does not become approved engineering geometry by being imported, rendered, or
looking convincing.
Resolving a conflict between records
When a drawing, a scan, and a survey disagree, Forge surfaces the conflict with
its evidence. Which record governs is an engineering judgment, and a person
makes it.
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.
Repair sign-off
Every sign-off that a work package is ready to execute is a human decision.