Who can act, and what counts as done?

The question

A shared economic world must distinguish a proposed action, permission to act and a verified result. Combining them into one “done” status would hide important uncertainty.

RootKnow studies how that distinction can work across independent people and organizations. The proposed RealMaker system would coordinate requests and commitments while authority stays with the relevant owner and jurisdiction. Connecting a resource would not grant other participants control over it.

Small example

A buyer requests a replacement part from a workshop in another country. The shared system might help them identify a possible route. The workshop still decides whether to accept the job, according to its own obligations, rules and safety requirements.

If accepted, local people or systems carry out the work. A production record can show that something was made. Delivery evidence can show that it reached the buyer. Neither record alone necessarily shows that the part met the agreed requirement. The factory case explores these separate steps.

What we are testing

The proposed loop is: understand the situation, compose a plan, authorize, act, verify and update. A participant may delegate bounded actions in advance, but that permission must remain explicit and attributable.

We would test evidence standards appropriate to each task. Low-risk work may need a simple record; higher-stakes work may need independent checks. Missing or conflicting evidence should remain visible. The shared view must update from the result rather than quietly treating the original prediction as true.

A verified delivery would change more than a status label: stock decreases, obligations change and a capability gains evidence. The buyer, workshop and researcher should see permitted views of the same event. Those changes must affect the next projection.

What would change our mind

If authority cannot be resolved, the action should not proceed merely because the model recommends it. If evidence is too expensive, easily manipulated or unable to distinguish success from failure, the loop needs another design. We would also reconsider it if these additional steps create more burden than existing agreements, warranties or checks without improving the result.

RealMaker is in early development. This note states a research question and idea being tested.