The Standard is not an instrument.

8.1 Instrument eligibility and approval. Observations may be generated for certification only through an instrument approved by AIR APAC against Sections 8, 9 and 10 and the published instrument-approval criteria required by Section 16.3. No instrument is approved under this edition. The following instrument types are eligible to seek approval:

• scenario simulation with retained decision trace;
• assessed live exercise with an authorised assessor;
• structured work-product review against a defined brief.

8.2 Self-report is not evidence. Self-assessment, survey response, declared experience, training attendance and manager endorsement generate no observations and contribute nothing to a score.

8.3 Minimum observations. Each dimension requires a minimum of three independent observations arising from distinct decision points. Two observations from the same decision point are one observation. A dimension below the minimum is scored Insufficient Evidence and cannot be certified.

8.4 Assessment volume. The minimum implies 27 observations. On the current scenario-simulation form, a single scenario yields approximately five to nine observations across the nine dimensions, implying three to five scenarios for a certifying assessment.

Assumption to be confirmed. The five-to-nine figure is drawn from existing scenario design, not from candidate data. Total assessment time per track must be measured in pilot and published before certification opens. If the real figure is materially lower, the practical answer is more decision points per scenario, not a lower minimum.

8.5 Contextual localisation. Scenario setting, sector, role titles, organisational norms, regulatory context and language may be localised. The decision points, the dimensions they elicit, the stakes profile and the anchors applied may not. Localised scenarios require AIR APAC approval before use in certification.

8.6 Decision-point integrity. Where an instrument reveals consequence, the candidate's position must be recorded before revelation. Post-revelation revision is an observation under P2, not a correction to P1. An instrument that permits silent overwriting of a committed position is not approvable.

8.7 Evidence minimisation. Transcripts retain only what the rubric requires: decisions, artifacts, sources consulted, stated rationale, revisions, and phase timings. Keystroke capture, affect inference, video analysis, biometric signals and private reflection are prohibited as scoring inputs.

8.8 Derivability. Every observation must be traceable to identified evidence in the transcript. An observation whose evidence cannot be pointed at does not exist.

8.9 Accessibility and accommodations. Every certifying instrument must meet published accessibility requirements and support a documented accommodations process. A candidate may request an access support before assessment and receives a written decision with reasons. Approved supports must preserve the construct, decision points, stakes profile and assessment integrity; they are recorded under Section 7.1.1 and Annex C. A denial or material misapplication is appealable under Section 18.6. Instrument requirements, request procedures, decision authority and assessor guidance must be published before certification opens.

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16.1 AI Readiness Index. Rates organisations on public signals. Different unit of analysis, different signal model, different evidence base. An organisation's Index position is not a function of its employees' certifications, and a certification confers no Index effect. The two must not be co-marketed in a way that implies conversion between them.

16.2 Vendor Certification. Assesses products and providers against a separate standard. Cross-reference to be added when that standard is published. A vendor certification says nothing about the judgment of any individual using the product.

16.3 Instrument approval and instrument neutrality. No candidate instrument is named under this Standard. Instruments are approved only against the published criteria required by Annex A12, and none may be approved until those criteria and retained approval evidence exist. No product is the Standard. Any instrument satisfying Sections 8, 9 and 10 and the published approval criteria may generate observations under AIRS-J/1 once certification opens, including instruments AIR APAC does not own, does not operate and does not profit from.

This is deliberate and is a term of the Standard, not an aspiration:

• The rubric in Section 7 contains no dependency on any product's interaction design, data model or vendor.
• Instrument approval is against published criteria, applied identically to AIR APAC's own instruments and to third-party instruments.
• AIR APAC publishes the approval decision and evidence summary for each instrument.
• Where an AIR APAC instrument fails an approval criterion, it is not approved.
• AIR APAC publishes the list of approved instruments and their owners.

The consequence is accepted: any instrument, including a competitor's, can carry this Standard on merit. That is the condition under which the Standard is worth holding.

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