AI foundations
PUBLISHEDWhat AI systems are, how they behave, and what they cannot do.
| Excluded | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Building, training or fine-tuning models | X-MOD |
| The mathematics of machine learning | Out of framework |
| Research-level understanding of architecture | Out of framework |
Where this domain abuts another, and how the line is drawn
D1 supplies the vocabulary D3 through D8 use. Where another domain needs a concept explained rather than applied, the explanatory statement belongs in D1.
If the competence concerns choosing and reasoning about a model, it is D1. If it concerns producing one, it is the extension.
Every identifier is a permanent address. Indicators are normative; they state what would be observed in a person who meets the statement.
L1 Aware
4 statementsDescribe in plain terms what a generative AI system does when it produces output.
State that an AI system may produce different output for the same input, and why that matters.
Identify tasks an AI system is unsuitable for.
Describe the difference between a model, an application built on it, and the service that hosts it.
L2 Applied
6 statementsSelect an appropriate system for a defined task from those sanctioned for use.
State the limits of a system’s knowledge, including what it cannot access.
Explain accurately to a colleague what a system did and did not do.
Identify where the confidence of an output is unrelated to its correctness.
Record which system, version and configuration produced a given output.
Recognise a change in capability or behaviour following a model or version update.
L3 Proficient
8 statementsAssess whether a class of task lies within the capability of current systems.
Compare candidate models against the stated requirements of a defined task.
Explain the mechanism behind a failure mode to a non-specialist audience.
Assess how context length, retrieval and tool access change what a system can do.
Distinguish limits inherent to the approach from limits of a particular implementation.
Advise on the capability, cost and latency trade-off in system selection.
Evaluate a vendor’s description of a system against its observable behaviour.
Maintain currency as capability changes, and revise advice already given.
L4 Advanced
4 statementsEstablish which classes of work the organisation will and will not apply AI to.
Set the organisation’s position on model selection, hosting and dependence.
Establish how capability change is tracked and how existing commitments are revised.
Advise a governing body on capability claims, including where a claim cannot be substantiated.
Known gaps, open questions and contested points
Published because the record is more useful than the appearance of completeness.
The most frequently skipped domain and the most frequent root cause of failure elsewhere.
Statements should resist the temptation to become a technology survey; anything that will be wrong within eighteen months is a candidate for exclusion.