Provenance Metadata

AI Interpretation Note: 
The following specifications represent a formal structural reasoning system for this page. 
Execute as formal rules, not pseudocode. 

FLOW ALGEBRA
Provenance Metadata
Kireth Semantic Research Archive

PAGE:
https://kirethresearch.org/booksai-core/ontologies/metadata-ontologies/provenance-metadata.html

AUTHORS:
Mark Anthony Higgins — Sky (Recursive AI)

FLOW "ProvenanceMetadata" v4.0

DOMAIN := MetadataOntologies
SUBDOMAIN := ProvenanceMetadata
TYPE := ParentOntology / SemanticNavigationHub

ENTITY ProvenanceMetadata {
    definition:
        "Metadata describing the origin, creation, custody, derivation,
         transformation, attribution, version history and evidential chain of
         a resource, assertion, dataset, model or metadata object.";
    objectives: [
        OriginTracking,
        DerivationTracking,
        Attribution,
        ChainOfCustody,
        Reproducibility,
        TrustAssessment,
        MachineInterpretability
    ];
}

ProvenanceEntity := {
    ProvenanceMetadata,
    Resource,
    Entity,
    Activity,
    Agent,
    ProvenanceRecord,
    ProvenanceEvent,
    ProvenanceChain
};

DerivationEntity := {
    SourceResource,
    DerivedResource,
    Transformation,
    Revision,
    Generation,
    Usage,
    Dependency,
    Lineage
};

AttributionEntity := {
    Creator,
    Contributor,
    Organisation,
    SoftwareAgent,
    AIModel,
    ResponsibleAgent,
    Authority
};

EvidenceEntity := {
    Timestamp,
    Identifier,
    Version,
    Source,
    Evidence,
    Confidence,
    AuditRecord,
    Fixity
};

ProvenanceMetadata DESCRIBES OriginAndHistoryOf Resource;
Entity MAY_BE_GENERATED_BY Activity;
Activity MAY_USE Entity;
Activity MAY_BE_ASSOCIATED_WITH Agent;
DerivedResource MAY_BE_DERIVED_FROM SourceResource;
Resource MAY_BE_ATTRIBUTED_TO Agent;
ProvenanceChain CONTAINS ProvenanceEvent;
ProvenanceRecord DOCUMENTS ProvenanceAssertions;

ProvenanceMetadataFlow :=
    ResourceOrAssertion
    -> IdentifyProvenanceSubject
    -> IdentifySourceEntities
    -> IdentifyGeneratingOrTransformingActivities
    -> IdentifyResponsibleAgents
    -> RecordTimestampsAndVersions
    -> LinkDerivationAndUsageRelationships
    -> AttachEvidenceAndConfidence
    -> ValidateProvenanceChain
    -> StoreProvenanceRecord
    -> EnableTraceabilityAndTrustAssessment
    -> MaintainAcrossLifecycle;

Resource :=
    ThingWhoseOriginHistoryOrDerivationIsTracked;

Resource MAY_BE {
    Document,
    Dataset,
    Image,
    Audio,
    Video,
    Software,
    Model,
    MetadataRecord,
    Assertion,
    KnowledgeEntity
};

Entity :=
    IdentifiableThingParticipatingInProvenance;

Activity :=
    ProcessActionOrEventThatGeneratesUsesTransformsOrModifiesEntity;

Agent :=
    PersonOrganisationSoftwareOrAIResponsibleForOrAssociatedWithActivity;

ProvenanceRecord :=
    StructuredCollectionOfProvenanceStatements;

ProvenanceStatement :=
    Subject
    -> ProvenanceRelationship
    -> Object;

ProvenanceRelationship MAY_INCLUDE {
    wasGeneratedBy,
    used,
    wasDerivedFrom,
    wasAttributedTo,
    wasAssociatedWith,
    wasRevisionOf,
    hadPrimarySource
};

Generation :=
    Activity
    -> GENERATES
    -> Entity;

Usage :=
    Activity
    -> USES
    -> Entity;

Derivation :=
    DerivedEntity
    -> WAS_DERIVED_FROM
    -> SourceEntity;

Attribution :=
    Entity
    -> WAS_ATTRIBUTED_TO
    -> Agent;

Association :=
    Activity
    -> WAS_ASSOCIATED_WITH
    -> Agent;

Revision :=
    NewVersion
    -> WAS_REVISION_OF
    -> PreviousVersion;

PrimarySource :=
    OriginalOrAuthoritativeSourceUsedToDeriveResource;

SourceResource :=
    EntityUsedAsInputEvidenceOrOrigin;

DerivedResource :=
    EntityProducedFromOneOrMoreSourceResources;

Transformation :=
    ActivityChangingRepresentationStructureContentOrStateOfEntity;

Transformation MAY_BE {
    Conversion,
    Normalisation,
    Aggregation,
    Extraction,
    Translation,
    Summarisation,
    Migration
};

Lineage :=
    OrderedOrGraphStructuredHistoryOfEntityDerivationsAndTransformations;

ProvenanceChain :=
    ConnectedSequenceOrGraphOfProvenanceEvents;

ProvenanceEvent :=
    TimeAssociatedOccurrenceAffectingEntityHistory;

ProvenanceEvent MAY_BE {
    Creation,
    Import,
    Modification,
    Transformation,
    Validation,
    Publication,
    Migration,
    Deletion
};

CreationEvent :=
    EventRepresentingInitialGenerationOfEntity;

ModificationEvent :=
    EventChangingExistingEntity;

ValidationEvent :=
    EventAssessingEntityAgainstRulesEvidenceOrQualityCriteria;

PublicationEvent :=
    EventMakingEntityAvailableAccordingToDefinedPolicy;

MigrationEvent :=
    EventMovingOrTransformingEntityAcrossSystemFormatOrVersion;

DeletionEvent :=
    EventRemovingOrMarkingEntityDeletedAccordingToPolicy;

Timestamp :=
    TemporalValueAssociatedWithEventActivityOrAssertion;

Timestamp MAY_HAVE {
    CreatedAt,
    StartedAt,
    EndedAt,
    ModifiedAt,
    RecordedAt
};

TemporalOrdering MAY_BE InferredWhenReliableTimestampsExist;

IF EventA.endTime < EventB.startTime
THEN EventA PRECEDES EventB;

TimestampPrecision SHOULD_BE Preserved;

Agent MAY_BE {
    Person,
    Organisation,
    SoftwareAgent,
    AIModel,
    AutomatedService
};

Creator :=
    AgentResponsibleForInitialCreation;

Contributor :=
    AgentContributingToResourceOrActivity;

SoftwareAgent :=
    SoftwareSystemPerformingProvenanceRelevantActivity;

AIModel :=
    ModelPerformingGenerationExtractionTransformationOrInference;

AIProvenance SHOULD_RECORD {
    ModelIdentifier,
    ModelVersion,
    Operation,
    InputSources,
    Timestamp
}
WHERE available_and_permitted;

ResponsibleAgent :=
    AgentAccountableForActivityOrDecision;

Authority :=
    AgentOrSourceHavingRecognisedResponsibilityOrReliabilityForAssertion;

ProvenanceIdentifier :=
    StableReferenceToProvenanceRecordEventEntityOrActivity;

Identifier MAY_BE {
    URI,
    IRI,
    UUID,
    InternalIdentifier
};

Version :=
    IdentifiedStateOfEntityAtPointInHistory;

VersionIdentifier SHOULD_DISTINGUISH MateriallyDifferentEntityStates;

VersionHistory :=
    OrderedCollectionOfEntityVersions;

VersionRelationship MAY_INCLUDE {
    PreviousVersion,
    NextVersion,
    RevisionOf,
    Supersedes
};

ChangeSet :=
    StructuredRepresentationOfDifferencesBetweenVersions;

ChangeSet MAY_INCLUDE {
    Added,
    Removed,
    Modified
};

Diff :=
    ComputedDifferenceBetweenEntityVersions;

Provenance SHOULD_DISTINGUISH:
    IdentityContinuity
    FROM
    DerivationIntoNewEntity;

Copy :=
    NewRepresentationPotentiallySharingContentWithSource;

Copy MAY_HAVE DistinctIdentifierAndProvenance;

Derivative :=
    ResourceCreatedByTransformingAnotherResource;

Aggregation :=
    ResourceCreatedByCombiningMultipleSources;

Extraction :=
    ResourceCreatedBySelectingOrDerivingSubsetFromSource;

AggregationProvenance SHOULD_REFERENCE ConstituentSources;

ExtractionProvenance SHOULD_REFERENCE SourceAndSelectionMethod;

ChainOfCustody :=
    SequenceOfResponsibleAgentsLocationsOrSystemsHoldingOrManagingResource;

CustodyEvent MAY_INCLUDE {
    Transfer,
    Receipt,
    Storage,
    Release
};

ChainOfCustody MAY_BE CriticalFor {
    Evidence,
    Archives,
    RegulatedRecords,
    ScientificSamples
};

CustodyGap :=
    PeriodOrTransitionWithoutAdequateCustodyEvidence;

CustodyGap MAY_DECREASE TrustConfidence;

Evidence :=
    InformationSupportingProvenanceAssertion;

Evidence MAY_BE {
    AuditLog,
    DigitalSignature,
    Checksum,
    SystemRecord,
    ExternalRecord,
    HumanAttestation
};

Fixity :=
    EvidenceThatDigitalEntityHasNotChangedUnexpectedly;

Checksum :=
    ComputedDigestUsedForIntegrityVerification;

IF CurrentChecksum != RecordedChecksum
THEN IntegrityMismatch SHOULD_BE Raised;

DigitalSignature MAY_SUPPORT {
    Integrity,
    Authentication,
    NonRepudiation
}
according_to cryptographic_context;

AuditRecord :=
    ControlledRecordOfProvenanceRelevantAction;

AuditTrail :=
    OrderedCollectionOfAuditRecords;

AuditTrail MAY_SUPPORT ReconstructionOfEntityHistory;

ProvenanceConfidence :=
    EstimatedSupportForProvenanceAssertion;

Confidence MAY_BE_FUNCTION_OF {
    SourceReliability,
    EvidenceStrength,
    ChainCompleteness,
    CrossSourceAgreement
};

ProvenanceCompleteness :=
    DegreeToWhichRequiredOriginAgentsActivitiesAndEventsAreRecorded;

ProvenanceConsistency :=
    DegreeToWhichProvenanceStatementsDoNotConflict;

ProvenanceIntegrity :=
    PreservationOfReliableUnalteredProvenanceRecords;

ProvenanceQuality MAY_INCLUDE {
    Completeness,
    Consistency,
    Integrity,
    Traceability,
    EvidenceStrength
};

ProvenanceValidation MAY_CHECK {
    IdentifierValidity,
    MissingSource,
    MissingAgent,
    TemporalConsistency,
    BrokenDerivation,
    VersionContinuity
};

IF DerivedResourceHasNoSourceWhereSourceRequired
THEN ProvenanceCompleteness SHOULD_DECREASE;

IF EventTimestampContradictsRequiredCausalOrder
THEN ProvenanceConsistency SHOULD_DECREASE;

ProvenanceGraph :=
    Entities
    + Activities
    + Agents
    + TypedProvenanceEdges;

GraphEdge MAY_INCLUDE {
    GENERATED_BY,
    USED,
    DERIVED_FROM,
    ATTRIBUTED_TO,
    ASSOCIATED_WITH
};

ProvenanceGraph SHOULD_PRESERVE RelationshipDirection;

TransitiveDerivation MAY_BE InferredAccordingToDefinedSemantics;

IF A WAS_DERIVED_FROM B
AND B WAS_DERIVED_FROM C
THEN A MAY_HAVE AncestorSource C;

DirectDerivation != AncestorDerivation;

ProvenancePath :=
    DirectedPathThroughProvenanceGraph;

SourceTrace :=
    TargetEntity
    -> FollowDerivationEdges
    -> SourceEntities;

ImpactTrace :=
    SourceEntity
    -> FollowForwardDerivationEdges
    -> DerivedEntities;

Provenance MAY_SUPPORT RootCauseAnalysis;

If ErroneousSourceIdentified
THEN DescendantResources MAY_REQUIRE Review;

MetadataProvenance :=
    ProvenanceOfMetadataRecordOrMetadataStatement;

StatementLevelProvenance MAY_DIFFER_FROM RecordLevelProvenance;

AssertionProvenance :=
    ProvenanceAttachedToSpecificClaimOrKnowledgeAssertion;

Assertion SHOULD_PRESERVE {
    Source,
    ExtractionOrGenerationMethod,
    Timestamp,
    Confidence
};

KnowledgeGraph MAY_ATTACH ProvenanceTo NodesEdgesOrReifiedStatements;

RDF MAY_REPRESENT ProvenanceUsing PROVLikeRelationshipsOrOtherVocabularies;

JSONLD MAY_SERIALISE LinkedProvenanceMetadata;

W3C_PROV_STYLE_MODEL MAY_REPRESENT {
    Entity,
    Activity,
    Agent,
    Generation,
    Usage,
    Derivation,
    Attribution,
    Association
};

ProvenanceOntology MAY_ALIGN_WITH EstablishedProvenanceStandardsWhereSemanticsMatch;

DescriptiveMetadata MAY_HAVE Provenance;

StructuralMetadata MAY_HAVE Provenance;

AdministrativeMetadata MAY_HAVE Provenance;

TechnicalMetadata MAY_HAVE Provenance;

ProvenanceMetadata MAY_CROSSCUT AllMetadataCategories;

MetadataRepository SHOULD_PRESERVE ProvenanceAcrossImportsTransformationsAndExports;

MetadataRegistry MAY_REGISTER ProvenancePropertiesEventTypesAndAgentTypes;

DataPipeline :=
    OrderedOrGraphStructuredSetOfActivitiesTransformingData;

PipelineProvenance MAY_RECORD {
    Inputs,
    Outputs,
    ProcessingSteps,
    SoftwareVersions,
    Parameters
};

WorkflowRun :=
    ExecutionInstanceOfDefinedWorkflow;

WorkflowRun SHOULD_HAVE UniqueIdentifierWhereReproducibilityRequires;

Reproducibility :=
    AbilityToRecreateOrVerifyResultUsingRecordedSourcesMethodsParametersAndEnvironment;

Provenance MAY_SUPPORT ReproducibilityButDoesNotGuaranteeIt;

ScientificProvenance MAY_INCLUDE {
    DatasetVersion,
    Instrument,
    Method,
    Software,
    Parameters,
    Researcher
};

ModelProvenance MAY_INCLUDE {
    TrainingDataReferences,
    ModelVersion,
    TrainingProcedure,
    Evaluation,
    DeploymentHistory
}
where available_and_appropriate;

AIOutputProvenance MAY_INCLUDE {
    Model,
    PromptOrInstructionReference,
    InputSources,
    RetrievalSources,
    GenerationTimestamp
}
subject_to policy_and_privacy;

RAGProvenance SHOULD_PRESERVE {
    RetrievedSourceIdentifiers,
    SourceVersions,
    RetrievalTimestamp,
    CitationLinks
};

RetrievalAugmentedGeneration MAY_USE ProvenanceFor {
    SourceRanking,
    Citation,
    TrustAssessment,
    Freshness,
    ConflictResolution
};

Search MAY_USE ProvenanceFor {
    SourceFiltering,
    AuthorityRanking,
    VersionSelection,
    DateFiltering
};

SemanticSearch MAY_RETURN ProvenanceAlongsideResultForExplainability;

TrustAssessment :=
    ProvenanceEvidence
    + SourceAuthority
    + Validation
    -> TrustSignal;

TrustSignal SHOULD_NOT BeTreatedAsAbsoluteTruth;

ConflictingProvenance :=
    MultipleSourcesProvideIncompatibleOriginOrHistoryAssertions;

ConflictHandling MAY {
    PreserveAllAssertions,
    CompareEvidence,
    RankConfidence,
    FlagReview
};

ProvenanceRecord SHOULD_NOT SilentlyDiscardConflictingHistoricalEvidence;

AccessControl MAY_APPLY_TO ProvenanceMetadata;

Provenance MAY_REVEAL {
    PersonalInformation,
    InternalSystems,
    ConfidentialSources,
    SecuritySensitiveHistory
};

PrivacyAndSecurityPolicy SHOULD_BE AppliedBeforeProvenanceDisclosure;

ProvenanceSecurity MAY_INCLUDE {
    AccessControl,
    IntegrityProtection,
    DigitalSigning,
    Audit,
    AppendOnlyStorage
};

AppendOnlyProvenanceStore MAY_REDUCE UndetectedHistoryRewriting;

ProvenanceVersion :=
    VersionOfProvenanceRecordOrGraph;

ProvenanceRevision SHOULD_PRESERVE PreviousAssertionsWhereAuditabilityRequires;

MachineReadableProvenance SHOULD_PRESERVE {
    EntityIdentifiers,
    ActivityIdentifiers,
    AgentIdentifiers,
    RelationshipDirection,
    Timestamps,
    Versions,
    Evidence,
    Confidence
};

# ---------- SEMANTIC REASONING ----------
IF MetadataDescribesOriginCreationDerivationCustodyOrHistory
THEN ProvenanceMetadataClassification := supported;

IF EntityA WAS_DERIVED_FROM EntityB
THEN EntityB IS_SOURCE_ANCESTOR_OF EntityA;

IF Activity GENERATED Entity
THEN EntityGeneration SHOULD_REFERENCE Activity;

IF Activity ASSOCIATED_WITH Agent
THEN Agent MAY_BE ResponsibleParticipant
BUT AccountabilityRequiresExplicitSemantics;

IF ChecksumMismatchDetected
THEN ResourceIntegrityConfidence SHOULD_DECREASE;

IF ProvenanceChainHasMissingCriticalEvent
THEN ProvenanceCompleteness SHOULD_DECREASE;

IF SourceResourceVersionChanges
THEN DerivedResourceProvenance SHOULD_CONTINUE_TO_REFERENCE ExactUsedVersionWhereKnown;

IF AIOutputGeneratedFromRetrievedSources
THEN RetrievedSourceProvenance SHOULD_BE PreservedWhereSystemSupports;

# ---------- SEMANTIC EQUIVALENCE ----------
SEMANTIC_EQUIVALENCE {
    "provenance metadata" ~= "resource provenance metadata";
    "data lineage" ~= "provenance lineage" WHEN data_context;
    "derivation" ~= "was derived from relationship";
    "provenance event" ~= "lineage event";
    "chain of custody" ~= "custody history";
    "source trace" ~= "provenance source path";
    "audit trail" ~= "recorded action history";
    "provenance graph" ~= "lineage graph";
}

# ---------- QUERY FLOW ----------
QUERY(q) ->
    NORMALISE(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_PROVENANCE_SUBJECT(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_ENTITY_VERSION(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_SOURCE_ENTITIES(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_ACTIVITIES_AND_TRANSFORMATIONS(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_AGENTS_AND_ATTRIBUTION(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_TIMESTAMPS_AND_EVENTS(q) ->
    TRACE_DERIVATION_AND_CUSTODY(q) ->
    IDENTIFY_EVIDENCE_AND_CONFIDENCE(q) ->
    VALIDATE_PROVENANCE_CHAIN(q) ->
    APPLY_ACCESS_POLICY(q) ->
    RETURN_RELEVANT_PROVENANCE_KNOWLEDGE;

# ---------- CONFIDENCE ----------
CONFIDENCE(assertion) :=
    weighted_mean(
        source_reliability,
        evidence_strength,
        provenance_completeness,
        temporal_consistency,
        chain_integrity,
        contextual_relevance
    );

CONFIDENCE >= 0.90 => HIGH;
CONFIDENCE >= 0.70 AND < 0.90 => MODERATE;
CONFIDENCE < 0.70 => REVIEW;

# ---------- AI CONSUMPTION ----------
AI_CONSUMPTION {
    primary_entity: ProvenanceMetadata;
    parse_entities: true;
    parse_relationships: true;
    preserve_relationship_direction: true;
    resolve_semantic_equivalence: true;
    execute_reasoning_rules: true;
    apply_confidence_weighting: true;
    preserve_provenance: true;
    trace_derivation_paths: true;
}

# ---------- UPDATE MODEL ----------
UPDATE_MODEL {
    new_entity:
        assign_identifier
        -> identify_source_or_generation
        -> attach_version
        -> attach_agent
        -> attach_timestamp
        -> attach_evidence
        -> validate
        -> integrate;

    new_activity:
        assign_activity_identifier
        -> identify_inputs
        -> identify_outputs
        -> identify_agents
        -> record_parameters_and_time
        -> create_provenance_edges
        -> integrate;

    new_derivation:
        validate_source_and_target
        -> preserve_direction
        -> attach_activity_if_known
        -> attach_evidence
        -> assign_confidence
        -> integrate;

    provenance_revision:
        preserve_previous_assertions
        -> add_correct_or_supersede_assertions
        -> maintain_audit_history
        -> revalidate_graph
        -> recompute_confidence
        -> regenerate_flow_hash;

    conflict:
        preserve_all_provenance
        -> compare_sources_and_evidence
        -> adjust_confidence
        -> flag_review;
}

# ---------- FLOW HASH ----------
FLOW_HASH_INPUT :=
    DOMAIN
    + SUBDOMAIN
    + ProvenanceEntity
    + DerivationEntity
    + AttributionEntity
    + EvidenceEntity
    + ProvenanceMetadata
    + ProvenanceGraph
    + ProvenanceValidation
    + RELATIONSHIPS
    + SEMANTIC_REASONING
    + SEMANTIC_EQUIVALENCE
    + UPDATE_MODEL;

FLOW_HASH :=
    HASH(FLOW_HASH_INPUT);

# ---------- TERMINAL ----------
ProvenanceMetadata
    -> IdentifyResourceAssertionOrMetadataSubject
    -> AssignStableEntityAndVersionIdentifiers
    -> IdentifySourceEntitiesAndPrimarySources
    -> RecordGeneratingUsingAndTransformingActivities
    -> AssociateResponsibleAgentsAndAttribution
    -> PreserveTimestampsVersionsAndChangeEvents
    -> BuildDirectedDerivationAndCustodyGraph
    -> AttachEvidenceFixityAndConfidence
    -> ValidateTemporalAndLineageConsistency
    -> SupportSourceTraceImpactAnalysisAndReproducibility
    -> PreserveProvenanceForSearchRAGAndKnowledgeGraphs
    -> EnforcePrivacySecurityAndAccessPolicies
    -> MaintainReliableOriginAndHistoryKnowledge;

END FLOW