What does 'Built by Exeter Labs' mean on this site?
The label 'Built by Exeter Labs' is a disclosure. It marks a product that Exeter Labs built and operates, and it points to the common ownership of AIR APAC and Exeter Labs. It does not change how a result is decided.
Judgment is how well a person decides once AI has given the answer. AIRS-J/1 is the standard AIR APAC publishes for judgment in AI-enabled work.
The short answer: "Built by Exeter Labs" is a disclosure. It marks a product that Exeter Labs built and operates. It does not change how a result is decided.
Built by Exeter Labs
Exeter Labs builds and operates StepSim, AIR APAC's official assessment instrument. The owner of AIR APAC also owns Exeter Labs.
What does the label mark?
It marks a product that Exeter Labs built and operates. The product is named in the text just below the label. Some pages use the longer form "built and operated by Exeter Labs". The meaning is the same.
Where is the label placed, and why there?
Where a page names a product built by Exeter Labs, the label is placed immediately above that block of text. On some pages the longer form appears in the text itself. In both forms the reader sees who built the product on the page that names it. The common ownership is stated on each page that explains how AIR APAC and Exeter Labs relate.
Which products carry the label?
Built by Exeter Labs
StepSim carries it. StepSim is an AIR APAC initiative, built and operated by Exeter Labs, and it is the official instrument of AIRS-J/1 (Section 16.3). Section 4.9 adds that Exeter Labs "holds the intellectual property in, builds and operates the other tools AIR APAC uses, under contract with AIR APAC". Where a page names one of those tools, the label is placed above it too. Section 16.3 allows further instruments to be approved, and AIR APAC publishes the list of approved instruments and their owners.
Why does airapac.org carry the label at all?
The two organisations share an owner, as stated above. AIR APAC declares this in the Standard itself, in Section 4.9, so that no reader has to search for it. The label repeats that fact where a product is named. Section 4.9 also says that any further arrangement between the two "is entered here before it takes effect".
Is the label an endorsement or a sign of a partnership?
No. The label is a disclosure of common ownership and of the contract in Section 4.9. It is not a mark of quality, an award, a recommendation or a sign of an outside partner. What makes a product the official instrument is Section 16.3 and Annex F of the Standard, not the label.
Does Exeter Labs decide anyone's result?
No. Exeter Labs operates the software that applies the published rules, and AIR APAC issues the certification decision (Section 11.6). Section 4.3 says that "Certification outcomes are decided by the rules in Section 12 alone, never by what a candidate or employer bought". It also says that "The owner of AIR APAC takes no part in any individual result". Every reading is scored by published rules and traces to what the person did. No model's opinion stands alone as a reading.
Can Exeter Labs change the rules that score a result?
No. A rule changes only through a new version of the Standard. Section 4.1 says that "Any criterion not in this document, or in the instrument specification it incorporates (Annex F), does not exist". Annex F says that "A change to the specification that changes a rule is released with a new version of this Standard". A reader can check the rules in force in AIRS-J/1 v2.3.
Does Exeter Labs certify anyone?
No. AIR APAC certifies people under Section 12. AIR APAC certifies facilitators under AIRS-J/1 Section 20.6; Exeter Labs issues the licence, not the certification. Section 4.9 says Exeter Labs "builds the software, licenses certified facilitators to run it, and issues no certification". Section 20.6 says the licence "is not a certification".
Who reviews an appeal?
Section 17 sets who may review an appeal. The appeals reviewer is a review board member or an authorised assessor. That person is "not involved in the original decision or delivery, and not employed by or paid through Exeter Labs".
What is Exeter Labs?
Exeter Labs is the product company of AIR APAC. It builds the instruments AIR APAC publishes. Under Section 4.9, it also builds and operates the other tools AIR APAC uses, under contract with AIR APAC.
What this does not claim
This page does not claim that AIR APAC and Exeter Labs are independent of each other. They share an owner. It does not describe how records are kept or who reads them. It does not say that the official instrument is the only instrument the Standard allows. The label is not a statement about the quality of any product.
AIR APAC publishes the standard for judgment in AI-enabled work, certifies people against it through its official instrument, and stands behind every result.