# Trust Model **Meta-Universe Specification** **Document ID:** MU-V2-FED-004 **Title:** Trust Model — Trust Establishment **Document Class:** Normative **Version:** 2.0 (Draft) **Status:** Working Draft **Normative References:** MUC, MMAS, MUFP **Informative References:** Federation-Contracts.md, Identity-Binding.md, Consent-and-Disclosure.md **Copyright:** © Orkestron.AI **License:** Apache-2.0 --- # 1. Purpose This document defines the Trust Model for the Meta-Universe Federation Protocol (MUFP). Trust is the constitutional foundation that enables sovereign Universes to cooperate safely while preserving semantic authority, ownership and autonomy. The Trust Model specifies how trust is established, evaluated, maintained and revoked during federation. Trust governs confidence in semantic interactions rather than confidence in implementation technologies. --- # 2. Scope This specification applies to: - Universe-to-Universe federation; - Semantic Contracts; - Identity Bindings; - Projection exchange; - Semantic Package exchange; - AI agent collaboration; - delegated semantic authority. --- # 3. Trust Principles Every trust relationship SHALL be: - explicit; - verifiable; - traceable; - version-aware; - purpose-driven; - revocable; - technology independent. Trust SHALL NEVER be assumed implicitly. --- # 4. Definition Trust is the justified confidence that another participant will act according to agreed semantic rules. Trust SHALL be based upon objective evidence rather than assumptions. Trust MAY differ depending on purpose, scope or context. --- # 5. Trust Participants Trust relationships MAY exist between: - Universes; - Organizations; - Individuals; - AI Agents; - Services; - Semantic Authorities. Every participant SHALL possess a canonical Identity. --- # 6. Trust Evidence Trust MAY be established using one or more forms of evidence, including: - constitutional conformance; - certification; - digital signatures; - organizational agreements; - verified identity; - previous federation history; - audit records; - governance decisions. Additional evidence MAY be defined by domain-specific standards. --- # 6a. The Trust Vector Trust within the Meta-Universe SHALL NOT be modelled as a single binary or scalar value. Trust is **multidimensional**: a participant may be wholly trusted along one axis and barely trusted along another, and federation decisions depend on *which* trust is required for *which* purpose. The Trust Vector defines, at minimum, the following dimensions: - **Identity Trust** — confidence that the participant is who it claims to be. - **Semantic Trust** — confidence that the participant's Meta-Model means what it claims to mean. - **Governance Trust** — confidence in how the participant governs, stewards and evolves its semantics. - **Contract Trust** — confidence that the participant will honour the Semantic Contracts it accepts. - **Operational Trust** — confidence in the participant's runtime reliability, availability and correctness of exchange. - **Historical Trust** — confidence derived from the participant's prior, traceable federation behaviour. A Universe MAY, for example, fully trust another's *identity*, only partially trust its *semantic model*, decline to trust its *governance*, and trust only *certain contracts or projections*. Each dimension SHALL be evaluated, recorded and revised independently. Authorization decisions SHALL state which Trust Vector dimensions they relied upon, so that trust becomes **explainable, traceable and revisable per dimension** rather than an opaque verdict. Domain-specific standards MAY add dimensions to the Trust Vector but SHALL NOT collapse the existing dimensions into a single value. --- # 7. Trust Levels Trust **levels** classify the strength of trust *within a single dimension* of the Trust Vector; they are not a substitute for the Vector itself. Implementations MAY classify each dimension using levels such as: - Unknown - Limited - Trusted - Highly Trusted - Authoritative A participant therefore holds not one level but a level *per dimension* — for example, Authoritative Identity Trust together with Limited Governance Trust. Trust classification SHALL remain explicit and explainable. --- # 8. Purpose-Aware Trust Trust SHALL be evaluated for a specific purpose. A participant trusted for one purpose SHALL NOT automatically be trusted for another. Examples: - schema discovery; - projection exchange; - AI reasoning; - synchronization; - delegated authority. Purpose SHALL participate in authorization decisions. --- # 9. Context-Aware Trust Trust MAY depend upon Context. Examples include: - legal jurisdiction; - security classification; - operational environment; - regulatory requirements; - emergency operations. Context SHALL remain explicit. --- # 10. Trust Establishment Recommended trust establishment process: 1. Discover participant. 2. Verify Identity. 3. Evaluate evidence. 4. Verify constitutional compatibility. 5. Establish Semantic Contract. 6. Record Trust Event. 7. Begin federation. Trust establishment SHOULD be repeatable and auditable. --- # 11. Trust Evolution Trust MAY evolve over time. Trust changes SHOULD be represented through Events. Historical trust decisions SHALL remain reconstructable. Trust SHALL support continuous reassessment. --- # 12. Trust Revocation Trust MAY be revoked. Revocation SHALL: - remain traceable; - preserve historical records; - identify rationale; - identify governing authority. Revocation SHALL NOT invalidate historical federation activities. --- # 13. Trust and Security Trust SHALL complement, not replace, security. Security mechanisms determine whether communication is protected. Trust determines whether semantic cooperation is justified. The two concepts SHALL remain independent. --- # 14. Validation A conforming implementation SHOULD validate: - participant identity; - trust evidence; - applicable Contracts; - purpose; - context; - federation compatibility. Validation SHALL remain deterministic and explainable. --- # 15. Architectural Invariants Every trust relationship SHALL preserve: - sovereignty; - canonical Identity; - ownership; - provenance; - traceability; - constitutional compliance. Trust SHALL NEVER transfer semantic authority. --- # 16. Future Directions The Trust Vector invites a richer trust calculus than this document specifies. A future companion standard would define how the dimensions of the Trust Vector compose into purpose-specific authorization decisions, how trust evidence is weighted per dimension, and how Historical Trust is computed from the Semantic Timeline of prior federations. Such a standard would make the Trust Vector not only explainable but reproducible, so that two implementations evaluating the same evidence reach the same per-dimension verdict. --- # Final Statement Trust is the constitutional foundation of semantic federation within the Meta-Universe. Rather than assuming confidence through technology alone, Meta-Universe establishes trust through explicit evidence, shared constitutional principles, Semantic Contracts and continuous traceability. This enables independent Universes to collaborate safely while preserving autonomy, accountability and long-term semantic interoperability.