Name the tools that helped make the work
AI contributes to documents, software and analysis alongside people. XSI’s approach is to disclose that contribution and connect the disclosure to the delivered artifact.
A readable mark can identify the declared use of XSI tools and when the record was issued. A machine-readable record can carry the corresponding metadata for systems that process the file.
That record describes how the work was produced. It does not replace the author’s judgment or establish that every statement in the artifact is correct.
Bind the record to the content
A content fingerprint is calculated from the artifact. If the covered content changes, recalculating the fingerprint produces a different value.
A fingerprint alone does not establish who issued the record: someone could replace both the file and an unprotected fingerprint. Verification also needs the issuer’s signature and a trusted way to identify the issuer’s public key.
The verification result should distinguish a matching artifact, altered content, an untrusted signer and a signature that cannot be checked. Each is a different outcome.
Keep provenance and quality separate
A valid signature can connect an issuer’s statement to specific content. It cannot prove that the content is accurate, useful or complete. Those questions still depend on the work and its supporting evidence.
An integrity check identifies changes to the content covered by the signed record. Its result applies to that content; the security of the surrounding system requires its own controls.
XSI’s marking approach combines disclosed participation with checks that can be repeated. The artifact and the provenance record remain available for inspection.
A verification result has a defined scope
Select diagram to enlargeA defined transparency obligation
The European Commission states that the AI Act’s Article 50 transparency obligations apply from August 2, 2026. The rules address providers and deployers in different circumstances, including machine-readable marking of certain synthetic outputs, with conditions and exceptions. The Commission’s Guidelines on transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems, updated August 6, 2026, explain the scope and exceptions.
XSI’s own provenance record is a product design choice. Whether a particular implementation meets a legal obligation depends on the applicable rule and the implementation, not the presence of a brand mark alone.
