Concepts

Identity

Who an actor is. EXOCHAIN actors are humans, organizations, agents, holons, services, and validators. Each carries a signing key, registered metadata, and a status (active, inactive, quarantined).

Authority

What an actor may invoke under policy. Authority lives across many systems. EXOCHAIN coordinates authority by referencing it from AVCs, not by replacing system-local controls.

Volition (delegated)

The operational intent encoded in an AVC. Volition is bounded: scoped, expiring, revocable, hierarchical. EXOCHAIN does not claim AI consciousness; volition here is precisely delegated operational intent.

Consent

A principal's grant. Consent is recorded as part of the AVC issuance flow and persists with a scope hash that proves what was agreed to, independent of presentation.

Execution

The action that occurs after validation succeeds. Executions are captured as receipts. Failed validations also produce receipts — with outcome denied — so the absence of authorization is itself attested.

Custody

The unbroken evidentiary chain across identity, authority, volition, consent, execution, and revocation. Custody is the purpose; the blockchain is the mechanism.