Provenance
The causal chain is always traceable and auditable. From Origin to end, unbroken. If it breaks, it stops.
Identity
The origin identity is immutable. It generates authority. It cannot change throughout the chain.
Continuity
Continuity is proven at every step. Proof of Continuity replaces Proof of Possession. Authority can only shrink.
Protocol-level authority propagation for AI agents.
PIC models authority as provenance identity plus causal relationship. Agent systems verify Proof of Relationship, compose Proof of Continuity, and enforce non-expansion through Sandboxed Execution and multi-lineage guardrails.
Root authority in origin identity and causal provenance, not in bearer possession alone.
Verify adjacent Proof of Relationship evidence, then compose it as Proof of Continuity.
Reject invalid mixed lineages and authority states that expand beyond their causal path.
PIC 0.2 draft as a navigable map.
The homepage reads this from the same specification data used by the Specification page, so the map follows the latest release.
Follow the design work behind PIC.
Architecture notes, protocol artifacts, exchange flows, and agent security essays for people building with authority continuity.
Proof-of-Continuity: A Temporal Model for Authority Propagation in Distributed Systems and AI Agents
Formalizes Proof-of-Continuity as a temporal authority-propagation model for distributed systems and AI agents, complementing possession with causal relationship and non-expansion.
From Hardy Compiler to Hardy AI Agent
Connects compiler-style execution boundaries to AI agents, showing why confused-deputy failures appear when agents act through ambient credentials and why authority continuity matters.
Designing PIC-X: From Specification to Architecture to Code
Introduces PIC-X as the first open-source implementation component in the PIC software ecosystem, following the project from specification to architecture and code.
Designing PIC-X: Deriving an Initial PIC Context of Authority
Defines the initial continuity exchange: validate OAuth authority, validate the initial proposal, derive PCA, issue PIC COSE artifacts, and return the first PIC Token JWT.
Designing PIC-X: Exposing Configuration through .well-known/pic-x-configuration
Explains PIC-X discovery: server control-plane metadata, realm issuer discovery, endpoints, JWKS, capabilities, and the multi-realm trust model.
Designing PIC-X: PIC Token JWT and COSE Artifacts
Defines the PIC Token JWT and native COSE artifacts used by PIC Profile 0.2: PIC PCA COSE, PIC Continuity COSE, and PIC Continuity Transition COSE.
Designing PIC-X: Centralized Token Exchange End to End
Shows a complete centralized PIC Token Exchange flow from OAuth authority to PIC Token JWT 0, through continuity advancement, to the final attenuated authority state.
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