Identity, authority, and
evidence for AI-powered
workflows.
Build trusted, governed, and auditable AI systems. Bind identity to AI agents. Define delegated authority. Log all evidence. Never sacrifice trust for automation.
Talk to an identity expert
Explore the architectureThe AI trust gap
No AI Identity
AI agents lack verifiable credentials. Who is making the decision? Service account? Model inference? Unclear.
Undefined Scope
AI actions unbounded. What can it access? How much can it spend? When does authority expire? Silent guesses.
Invisible Actions
AI decisions hidden. Why did the bot approve/deny? Logs missing or incomplete. Auditors see nothing.
No Revocation
Rogue AI still running. Can't pull the plug instantly. Authority stays live until deployment restart.
The three AI actor classes
AI Agent
Identity: Service account, model endpoint, or inference engine with verifiable credentials.
Role: Executes delegated actions. No implied authority. Every action checked against mandate.
Sponsor (Human)
Identity: Authenticated human or team that decides to delegate work to the agent.
Role: Creates mandate. Defines scope, purpose, time. Can revoke anytime. Accountable for agent.
Organization
Identity: System that owns resources and enforces policy.
Role: Sets policy. Evaluates decisions. Can revoke all agent access instantly. Owns audit log.
Identity binding for AI agents
Every AI agent gets a verifiable identity that can be cryptographically linked to its actions.
Credential
Verified
Key-Bound
Encrypted
Time-Limited
Revocable
Identity, not permission
Identity alone proves "you are who you claim." It does NOT grant permission.
Authority (mandate) grants permission. It is separate from identity.
Combining both enables true accountability: "This agent (identity) did this action (authority) at this time (evidence)."
No confusion: Being authenticated does not mean being authorized. Ever.
Delegated authority (the mandate)
Scope Definition
Which resources? Which actions? Example: "Read invoices from S3, write to ledger, max $100k/day."
Purpose Statement
Why does the agent need this? Example: "Process monthly vendor payments."
Time Bounds
Valid from–through. Example: "Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026. No auto-renewal."
Sponsor Sign-Off
Who authorized this? Example: "CFO signature, date, approval chain."
Stored & Immutable
Mandate recorded in system. Cannot be changed. Only revoked or allowed to expire.
Mandate ≠ Permission: A mandate is the GRANT of authority. Permission is the DECISION to allow an action. They are separate concerns evaluated at request time.
Policy decision flow
Agent Requests Action
"I want to approve a $50k payment."
Verify Identity
Credential valid? Not revoked? Session anomaly?
Check Mandate
Does agent have valid delegation for this action? In scope? Active time?
Apply Policy
Organization rules. Risk signals. Rate limits. Dollar caps.
Render Decision
ALLOW or DENY. Log with full context. Return to agent.
Tool boundary & policy engine
AI Solutions is NOT a policy engine. It's the identity and authority layer that works WITH your existing policy systems.
Identity Binding
We do: Verify AI agent identity. Bind credentials to actions. Log identity context.
We don't: Decide if the action is allowed.
Mandate Storage
We do: Store delegated authority. Track expiry. Provide mandate status to policy engine.
We don't: Enforce policy rules (that's the engine).
Evidence Logging
We do: Record all identity & authority context. Link decisions to mandates. Create audit trail.
We don't: Hide decisions. Decisions are all logged.
Continuous trust evaluation
Credential Check
At every request, verify agent credential is still valid. Revoked? Expired? Denied.
Mandate Expiry
Time boundary reached. Access revoked automatically. No renewal without re-grant.
Policy Sync
Organization policy changed? All agents re-evaluated. Can deny mid-workflow.
Risk Signal
Anomaly detected. Agent flagged. Policy engine can act (block, require step-up).
Immediate revocation
No delay. No grace period.
Sponsor revokes: Mandate withdrawn instantly. New requests denied in seconds.
Org policy revokes: All agents matching condition lose access immediately.
Credential revoked: Identity invalidated. Next request fails. Sessions in-flight get error on next policy check.
Time expires: Automatic revocation. No re-grant without new mandate.
Audit trail: "Agent access revoked by X at Y reason Z" recorded.
Complete evidence trail
Every AI action is logged with complete context:
Export-Ready: Evidence can be extracted in SOC 2, FedRAMP, and compliance formats. Regulators can inspect the chain of command.
AI Solutions architecture
Identity, authority, and evidence work together as a unified stack.
AI Agent
Service account, model, endpoint
Identity Binding
Verify credential
Mandate Store
Check authority
Policy Engine
Apply rules
Evidence Log
Record decision
Mandate API
AvailableCreate, update, revoke AI agent mandates. Real-time status. Immutable history.
Event Webhooks
PlannedReal-time notifications on mandate changes, revocations, expirations.
Evidence Store
PlannedImmutable audit log. Query, export, compliance formats.
AI-powered use cases
Financial Processing
AI bot approves invoices up to $10k, flags large amounts. Mandate defines limits. Every approval logged. Sponsor can revoke if bot goes rogue.
Customer Support
AI agent resolves tickets, issues refunds up to $500. Authorized by Support Manager. Escalates complex cases. Full audit trail for disputes.
Data Operations
AI pipeline exports data from warehouse to analytics platform. Mandate limits which datasets, refresh frequency, and time windows.
Frequently asked questions
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Let's discuss your AI workflows, governance needs, and implementation timeline. We'll help you bind identity, delegated authority, and evidence to every AI action.
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Explore the architecture