objective evidence
What It Means
Objective evidence is concrete, verifiable information that you can point to as proof that something happened, exists, or works as claimed. It's the factual documentation, data, measurements, or records that support your statements about AI system performance, compliance, or outcomes. Unlike opinions or subjective assessments, objective evidence can be independently verified by others.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
CAIOs need objective evidence to demonstrate AI system compliance with regulations, justify investment decisions to boards, and defend against potential liability claims. When auditors, regulators, or stakeholders question AI performance, bias, or safety, having concrete evidence like test results, monitoring logs, and documented processes is essential. Without objective evidence, claims about AI reliability or ethical compliance are just assertions that won't hold up under scrutiny.
Real-World Example
A CAIO implements a hiring AI system and maintains objective evidence including: bias testing results showing equal selection rates across demographic groups, audit logs of all hiring decisions made by the system, performance metrics comparing AI recommendations to actual employee success rates, and documentation of the training data sources and validation processes used.
Common Confusion
People often confuse objective evidence with any documentation, but not all records qualify - personal opinions in reports, anecdotal feedback, or undocumented claims don't count. The evidence must be factual, measurable, and independently verifiable, not just written down somewhere.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare AI systems, objective evidence includes clinical validation data, audit logs, performance metrics, and doc...
Finance: In finance, objective evidence is critical for demonstrating AI model performance, risk management effectiveness, and re...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"data supporting the existence or verity of something (note: can be obtained through observation, measurement, test, or other means)."Source: ISO/IEC_TS_5723:2022(en)
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