← Back to catalogue
Published

consequence

vr.tr.consequence · thing-consequence

Let an agent record consequences with their cause, likelihood, timing and severity, and keep predicted and actual consequences apart.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.FLW
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Cause and link What it follows from.

Cause

Originating event.

Cause

The originating cause.

  1. What caused this consequence? provenance
  2. How strong is the causal link? measurement

Pathway

How it came about.

Pathway

Intermediate steps.

  1. Through which steps did the cause lead to it? definition
  2. Could it have been interrupted? boundary
Status Predicted or actual.

Predicted

Forecasts.

Prediction

Predicted consequences.

  1. Is this consequence predicted or observed? definition
  2. How likely is it? measurement

Actual

Observed outcomes.

Observation

Observed outcomes.

  1. What actually happened, according to which source? provenance
  2. How does it compare with the prediction? measurement
Severity How much it matters.

Scale

Severity rating.

Severity

Severity on a scale.

  1. How severe is the consequence, on which scale? measurement
  2. Who is affected? boundary

Duration

Short or long term.

Duration

How long it lasts.

  1. How long will the consequence last? measurement
  2. Is it reversible? boundary
Response Dealing with it.

Mitigation

Reducing harm.

Mitigation

Measures taken.

  1. What can reduce this consequence? action
  2. Who should act? provenance

Accountability

Responsibility.

Accountability

Who answers for it.

  1. Who is responsible for this consequence? provenance
  2. What remedies exist? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
noun.phenomenon
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.FLW
Facets: substance
energy
Facets: origin
natural
Facets: agency
inert
Facets: mobility
not-applicable
Facets: scale
not-applicable
Facets: affordances
observable
Other names and narrower kinds
offspring, materialization, materialisation, effect, outcome, result, event, issue, upshot, aftereffect, aftermath, wake

What it is Filled

A phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon; a result, outcome or effect.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent record consequences with their cause, likelihood, timing and severity, and keep predicted and actual consequences apart.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Follows from a cause
  • Can be intended or unintended
  • Predicted and actual consequences differ
  • Severity and likelihood are separate

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Present a predicted consequence as certain.
  • Attribute an outcome to the wrong cause.
  • Hide foreseeable harmful consequences from the people deciding.

Only with a human decision

  • Accepting serious consequences on behalf of people who will bear them.

May

  • Describe likely consequences of a decision, stating uncertainty and assumptions.
  • Point out unintended consequences that others may miss.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Those who bear consequences are often not those who decide.

Who is affected

  • People affected by decisions
  • Decision makers

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody owns the concept; whoever acts answers for the consequences.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • oewn-00034512-n - registry parent class

related

  • causality - cause and effect
  • risk - consequence and likelihood
  • evaluation - outcomes
  • correlation - following is not causing

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.consequence
  • Open English WordNet: oewn-11430739-n

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

A consequence is defined by its causal relationship to an earlier phenomenon and has no intrinsic physical properties shared across its instances.

Recognition required Filled

  • Words such as result, outcome, effect, impact
  • Outcome measures in evaluations
  • Consequence ratings in risk matrices
  • Not a thing to see; described as outcomes in reports, assessments and narratives.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • predict it, before acting
  • observe and record it, after the fact
  • attribute it, to a cause
  • mitigate it, when harmful

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Treating a predicted consequence as certain
  • Ignoring unintended consequences
  • Attributing outcomes to the wrong cause

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • ISO 31000 on consequences in risk assessment
  • Environmental and regulatory impact assessment rules

Context of use required Filled

  • Reasoning about what follows from actions and events, for decisions and accountability.
  • intended and unintended consequences
  • direct and indirect effects
  • short- and long-term outcomes
  • legal consequences

Sources Filled

  1. Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-11430739-n - sense and gloss of the concept
  2. Wiktionary: consequence - word senses and usage

Open questions

  • Should intended and unintended consequences be distinguished in records?
  • How should consequence severity scales be harmonised?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases such as offspring and event; should they be split off?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-consequence/spec.json