Why is the instrument built by Exeter Labs?
AIR APAC owns and publishes the Standard. Exeter Labs builds and operates the software that records what a person does. The owner of AIR APAC also owns Exeter Labs, and the Standard says so. This FAQ sets out what the Standard does about that interest.
Built by Exeter Labs
AIR APAC owns and publishes the Standard. Exeter Labs builds and operates the software that records what a person does. The owner of AIR APAC also owns Exeter Labs, and the Standard says so. This FAQ sets out what the Standard does about that interest.
What are the Standard and the instrument?
Judgment is how well a person decides once AI has given the answer. AIRS-J/1, the AIR APAC Standard for Judgment in AI-Enabled Work, sets the rules by which AIR APAC assesses and certifies it. StepSim is the official instrument of the Standard. It is a scenario simulation with a retained decision trace (Section 8.1).
Why does Exeter Labs build and operate StepSim?
Exeter Labs is the product company of AIR APAC. It builds and operates StepSim, AIR APAC's official assessment instrument, to the specification published with the Standard (Annex F; Section 16.3). AIR APAC is not a software company, and it does not build the instrument itself.
The Standard records that Exeter Labs builds and operates StepSim. It gives no reason for the choice, and this FAQ gives none.
Who owns AIR APAC and Exeter Labs?
The owner of AIR APAC Pte. Ltd. also owns Exeter Labs. The Standard states this in its own text, in Section 4.9, "Declared interests of the issuing body". AIR APAC states it here as well, so that no reader has to find it for themselves.
Section 4.9 also records that Exeter Labs holds the intellectual property in, builds and operates the other tools AIR APAC uses, under contract with AIR APAC.
Who owns the Standard, and where are the scoring criteria?
AIR APAC owns the Standard and publishes it. The Standard incorporates the StepSim instrument specification by reference (Annex F). No scoring criterion applied in certification exists outside those two documents (header of the Standard).
What may the instrument decide, and what may it not?
The rubric is in the Standard, not in the software. Section 16.3 says: "The rubric in Section 7 depends on no product's interaction design: an instrument implements it, it does not define it."
Section 4.1 adds two rules. AIR APAC applies no undisclosed criterion, weighting, adjustment or override. Any criterion that is not in the Standard, or in the instrument specification it incorporates, does not exist.
What happens if the specification changes a rule?
A change to the specification that changes a rule is released with a new version of the Standard (Annex F). The Standard is published in full, so a rule change is visible to every reader.
What decides a certification outcome?
Certification outcomes are decided by the rules in Section 12 alone, never by what a candidate or employer bought (Section 4.3).
How does the Standard limit the interest?
Six rules in the Standard limit the interest. The first is that the interest is declared, as the answer on ownership above sets out (Section 4.9). The other five rules are set out in the answers on certification, the owner, pay by result, appeals and new arrangements.
A reader who wants to test these safeguards can do so against the published text. Each one is a rule in the Standard, with a section number.
Who certifies, AIR APAC or Exeter Labs?
AIR APAC certifies; Exeter Labs does not. AIR APAC certifies people under Section 12 and facilitators under Section 20.6. Exeter Labs builds the software, licenses certified facilitators to run it, and issues no certification (Section 4.9).
Does the owner of AIR APAC take part in results?
The owner takes no part in results. The Standard says: "The owner of AIR APAC takes no part in any individual result." (Section 4.3)
That does not mean the owner has no role in the Standard. The owner of AIR APAC decides, and holds a veto over the review board's recommendations (Section 4.2).
Is any listed role paid by result?
No listed role is paid by result. The Standard says: "No assessor, delivery partner, trainer or licensee is paid on a basis that varies with candidate outcomes." (Section 4.4)
Who reviews appeals?
Appeals are reviewed outside Exeter Labs. The appeals reviewer is not involved in the original decision or delivery, and is not employed by or paid through Exeter Labs (Section 17).
What happens if AIR APAC and Exeter Labs make a new arrangement?
New arrangements are entered first. Any further arrangement between AIR APAC and Exeter Labs is entered in Section 4.9 before it takes effect.
Is StepSim the only possible instrument?
StepSim is the official instrument, but the Standard does not make it the only possible one. Further instruments may be approved against Sections 8, 9 and 10. AIR APAC publishes the list of approved instruments and their owners at https://airapac.org/standard/instruments/ (Sections 8.1 and 16.3).
What this does not claim
- It does not claim that AIR APAC and Exeter Labs are independent of each other. The owner of AIR APAC also owns Exeter Labs.
- It does not claim that the owner has no role in the Standard. The owner of AIR APAC decides, and holds a veto over the review board's recommendations (Section 4.2).
- It does not give a reason for the choice of Exeter Labs beyond what the Standard records. It makes no claim about cost, speed or quality.
- It does not claim that the checks on StepSim are complete. Every reading is scored by published rules and traces to what the person did. The validation report is published as the checks in the Standard are met.
- It does not claim that any other instrument has been approved.
- It does not describe what StepSim records in each scenario. The instrument specification in Annex F does that.
AIR APAC publishes the standard for judgment in AI-enabled work, certifies people against it through its official instrument, and stands behind every result.
Read the certification rules → https://airapac.org/standard/certification/