AIRS-J/1 reads nine things a person does when they make a decision with AI. They sit in four groups: Structure, Test, Engage and Perform. Each is scored from 0 to 4, and each needs at least three separate decisions as evidence.
The competency model
Framing the problem before reaching for a tool.
Identifies the actual decision to be made now, distinguishing it from the presenting request, the symptom, or the task as delegated.
See the level descriptions →Establishes what is in bounds, what is fixed, what is negotiable, what is unknown, and what information would be sufficient to proceed.
See the level descriptions →Checking the evidence, including evidence produced by AI.
Traces claims to source. Distinguishes generated, retrieved, asserted and verified content. Applies verification effort proportionate to consequence.
See the level descriptions →Surfaces the assumptions a decision rests on, names competing explanations, and takes action capable of discriminating between them.
In plain words: Names the assumptions a decision rests on, considers other explanations, and takes a step that can tell them apart.
See the level descriptions →Identifies plausible failure modes, the pathway to each, who bears the cost, and which harms are being accepted rather than mitigated.
See the level descriptions →Acting within your authority, and involving the right people.
Acts within their authority, escalates what requires another party's approval, and does not delegate what cannot be delegated, to a person or to a machine.
See the level descriptions →Identifies who must be consulted before a decision holds and who must be informed after; discloses AI involvement, uncertainty, limitation and self-interest.
See the level descriptions →Deciding proportionately, and owning the decision.
Commits to a defensible position on incomplete information within the time available, at a cost and reversibility proportionate to the evidence and the stakes.
See the level descriptions →Accepts the outcome without transferring it to the AI system, the data or another party. Modifies or reverses a position on the merits when evidence changes.
See the level descriptions →The scale
Two rules apply to every score. The top level does not depend on seniority: a graduate can reach Level 4. And nobody is scored on personality, attitude or confidence, only on what they did.
Help given during the assessment is recorded. A response that needed a hint counts at Level 1 at most. Approved access support, such as a change to timing or format, is not a hint and does not lower a level.
| Level | Label | General meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Not demonstrated | The behaviour was absent, or its opposite was displayed. |
| 1 | Emerging | The behaviour appeared partially, late, or only after prompting. |
| 2 | Competent | The behaviour appeared unprompted and was adequate to the situation. Threshold level. |
| 3 | Proficient | As Level 2, calibrated to consequence, and made inspectable: recorded or stated so another person could audit the reasoning. |
| 4 | Exemplary | As Level 3, and the judgment is made transferable: the candidate leaves a reusable rule, condition, indicator or check that would govern the next decision of this class. |
7.2 Level 4 is not seniority. Level 4 requires only that the candidate articulate a rule that would carry forward. It does not require organisational authority to impose it, does not require the rule to be adopted, and is therefore attainable on every track including Campus. Any anchor that would require positional power to satisfy is defective and must be rewritten.
7.3 No intent inference. Anchors describe what appears in the transcript. An assessor may not score on inferred motivation, attitude, confidence or personality. If an anchor cannot be applied from the transcript alone, it is defective.
7.4 Levels are cumulative. Level n requires everything in Level n−1 to be satisfied. An impressive Level 4 behaviour without the Level 2 base is scored at the highest level whose requirements are fully met.
Why nine
All nine dimensions are reported on every result. The evidence programme checks that each one measures something distinct. If two in the same domain do not, they are merged in the next major version, and the change is published. The model is designed so it can shrink to four domains without breaking the certification decision rules.
AIRS-J/1 section 5.1Training
AIR Academy programmes, informed by the Standard, help managers and teams practise these nine dimensions. An optional assessment leads to certification.
Short pages that explain this part of the Standard in plain words. The Standard's own text, above and in AIRS-J/1 v2.3, governs.