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About · Professional ethics
A promise every
holder swears.
Every practitioner conferred with the Insignia will be asked to sign the IICTP Canons of Ethics as a condition of holding it. The process for acting on a breach is set out below as it is planned, and is not yet in operation.
“I will not execute, certify, or conceal code that I know to be mathematically unsound, vulnerable to nation-state breach, or perilous to human life. I place my professional honor and the safety of the public above all corporate obedience.”
The canons
Seven rules holders will live by.
Proposed for every practitioner in good standing.
- I
Paramount safety of public life and infrastructure
A chartered practitioner holds the safety, health and welfare of the public above all else. If an employer or client commands the deployment of a system with unmitigated catastrophic failure modes, the practitioner is bound to withhold sign-off.
- II
Algorithmic truth and formal verifiability
Practitioners never represent unverified probabilistic models or unproven machine learning outputs as formally verified safety logic in mission-critical environments.
- III
Mandatory whistleblower duty
Knowledge of active concealment of high-consequence defects should be reported promptly to IICTP. IICTP will treat reports in confidence and will not take action against a holder for reporting in good faith.
- IV
Rejection of commercial fraud and bribes
No practitioner may accept a kickback, equity grant or commercial inducement meant to compromise the outcome of a safety audit or architectural review.
- V
Maintenance of active technical competence
Credential holders complete the three-year recertification cycle and submit the required Technical Development Units to stay active on the Public Verification Register.
- VI
Cryptographic integrity and key custody
Deliberately introducing backdoors, weakening cryptographic primitives or mismanaging private key material is a grave breach, and results in immediate revocation.
- VII
Universal dignity and freedom from bias
Software architectures that govern public services must be free from discriminatory algorithmic skew, protecting human rights in every jurisdiction.
Enforcement
Planned: due process, then a public record.
A planned four-stage process that protects the accused and the public alike.
- Stage I
Complaint and first review
Planned: a report is screened for credibility and for whether it falls within the code, and the holder is told what is alleged.
- Stage II
Independent inquiry
Planned: a panel with no conflict of interest examines the evidence. Panel members will be named once appointed.
- Stage III
Right to respond
Planned: the practitioner may respond in writing, be represented, and see the evidence relied on before any decision.
- Stage IV
Decision and record
Planned: sanctions from reprimand to suspension to revocation, with a route to appeal, recorded on the public registry where the rules allow.
Reporting a concern
Raising a concern should not cost you your career.
IICTP does not yet run a funded defense programme and does not offer legal representation. What it commits to now is below. Anything more will be announced here only once it exists.
- Confidential handlingReports are handled in confidence and the reporter is not named without consent, unless the law requires it.
- No retaliation by IICTPIICTP will not take action against a holder for reporting in good faith.
- Ways to reportEmail standards@iictp.org. Do not include secrets or personal data you are not allowed to share.
Annual attestation
The oath is planned to be renewed every year.
IICTP plans to ask holders to file a conflict-of-interest statement and reaffirm the canons each year. The date and the consequence of missing it will be published before it applies.
Recognition follows conduct. See who has been honored for it, and how IICTP will report on itself.
Recognition follows conduct.
Honors and Fellowships are planned for practitioners whose work upholds the canons.