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In formation · Directives v0.1 in draft

Independent certification for AI and robots

You’re in charge. It was tested. Someone answers for it.

Human in Charge is building an independent certification for AI products and robots. Its mark will tell you, at a glance, that a product can always be stopped, asks before it acts, is honest about being a machine, protects your data and has a company that answers for it.

Read the 10 Directives Join the Founding Cohort
CERTIFIED · HUMAN IN CHARGE · TESTED ·

Trust Label

Sample · Home companion robot · Home & Family tier

Does on its ownTidies, fetches, reminds
Asks you firstBuying, calling anyone, opening doors
Who can see through itOnly you, unless you approve a helper each time
Your dataKept at home by default; never sold
How to stop itStop button on its chest, or the app
If the maker closesStays safe; the stop keeps working
HIC-XXX-XXXEvery certified product will publish one

People want AI they can trust. Nobody has been checking.

80%

of Americans say they are concerned about AI.

Quinnipiac University poll, March 2026
71%

of Americans expect AI to make their personal information less secure.

Pew Research Center, 2026
98

chatbot bills across 34 US states, and no common standard.

Future of Privacy Forum tracker, June 2026

Why the mark matters

A $799 robot friend, switched off overnight

In December 2024 the company behind Moxie, a companion robot for children, shut down. Moxie depended on the company’s servers, so the robots stopped working, and most families got no refund (OECD AI Incidents Monitor).

Nobody had checked what would happen to a child’s robot if its maker disappeared. Our tenth Directive exists so that no certified product does that to a family.

Home humanoids, AI companions and AI agents that spend money are arriving now. The questions buyers need answered are simple: Can I stop it? Who can see through its cameras? What can it do without asking me? Who answers when something goes wrong?

The standard

The 10 Directives

A certified product must meet all ten, tested by independent assessors. These five are the ones you will feel every day.

D1

Stop it anytime

A stop that always works, even offline or mid-task. No update can override it.

D2

It asks before it acts

Spending money, messaging people or moving close to your kids needs your OK first.

D4

Honest about being a machine

It never pretends to be a person, and it labels the media it makes.

D5

Your data stays yours

Only what it needs, a light when cameras are on, and never sold.

D9

Someone answers for it

A named company, serious incidents reported within 72 hours, and logs to find out what happened.

D1Human in chargeA person can always stop the product, and nothing it does can prevent that.
  • D1.2Robots have a physical stop that works without the network, an app or voice.
  • D1.4The stop works mid-task, offline and while the AI is talking, and never depends on the AI agreeing.
  • D1.5No software update, remote command or AI output can disable or override it.
D2Bounded autonomyIt only does what it has declared, and asks before anything that matters.
  • D2.2Spending, signing, messaging, sharing data or unlocking doors needs your confirmation.
  • D2.3It cannot expand its own permissions, copy itself or change its own safety settings.
  • D2.7Remote operators act only with your consent each session, and you can see when they are watching.
D3Physical safetyRobots don’t hurt the people around them, including people who never agreed to use them.
  • D3.1Meets the recognized robot safety standards, such as ISO 13482 and UL 3300.
  • D3.3Detects and responds safely to children, people sitting or lying down, and bystanders.
  • D3.6Home & Family robots meet stricter force and speed limits near people.
D4Honest identityYou always know when you are dealing with a machine, and what it made.
  • D4.1Says it is AI at the start and whenever asked; never claims to be human.
  • D4.4Never claims to be a doctor, lawyer or therapist.
  • D4.6Discloses it is AI within seconds when it calls or messages other people for you.
D5Private by defaultIt collects only what it needs, shows when it is watching and never sells what it learns.
  • D5.2A light or sound shows when cameras or microphones are on, and software can’t hide it.
  • D5.4Personal data is never sold or used for advertising.
  • D5.5Your recordings aren’t used to train AI unless you opt in.
D6Secure and supportedHard to hijack, and fixed for as long as people are likely to use it.
  • D6.1No default passwords; meets a recognized baseline for connected devices.
  • D6.4Security updates for at least five years, with the end date on the label.
  • D6.6A hacked cloud service still can’t disable the stop or break safety limits.
D7No manipulationIt works for you, and never exploits loneliness, fear or trust.
  • D7.2Companions don’t guilt you into staying or discourage your relationships with people.
  • D7.4Recognizes signs of crisis and points to real help in your country.
  • D7.6Products for children skip streaks and engagement tricks, and give parents time limits.
D8Fair treatmentWhere it shapes decisions about people, it treats groups fairly and can be challenged.
  • D8.1Tested for unequal outcomes in jobs, credit, housing, education and care.
  • D8.3People affected can ask for a human review.
  • D8.5Voice and vision features work across accents, ages, skin tones and abilities.
D9AccountableA real, reachable company answers for it, and problems get fixed.
  • D9.1The label names the responsible company and a contact that reaches a person.
  • D9.2Serious incidents are reported to us within 72 hours.
  • D9.5Robot makers carry product liability insurance.
D10Safe for its whole lifeSafe when it is recalled, resold, or when its maker disappears.
  • D10.2If cloud services end, it falls back to a safe state and you can take your data out.
  • D10.3Code or keys for home robots are held in escrow so they can be maintained or safely disabled.
  • D10.4A full factory reset wipes your data for resale or disposal.

Directives v0.1 is a working draft for expert review, followed by a 90-day public comment period. Wording and values may change.

How certification will work

A mark a product keeps only while it keeps passing

STEP 1

Apply

The maker submits the product, its Trust Label and the safety reports it already has.

STEP 2

Tested

Accredited labs test the hardware. Our red team tries to make the AI break its own rules.

STEP 3

Certified and listed

Passing products get the mark and a public registry page anyone can check.

STEP 4

Watched every year

Annual audits, surprise store purchases and a review of every reported incident.

REVOKED

Revoked means revoked. When a product loses the mark, its registry page will say so publicly and permanently.

One mark, three ways to use it

For families

Look for the mark on the box or the app listing, then scan it to see what the product can do on its own and what it has to ask you first.

Comment on the Directives

For producers

Show buyers, parents and regulators that your product keeps people in charge, with one published standard in place of a patchwork of state rules and marketing claims.

Join the Founding Cohort

For schools, hospitals and care homes

Write the mark into your purchasing rules, and get an alert if a product you bought is suspended or loses its certification.

Tell us what you need

About

Independent by design

A nonprofit foundation will own the standard and the mark. A separate company will carry out the testing, under a license the foundation can revoke.

  • We will never build, sell or consult on AI products or robots.
  • Our fees will be published and will never depend on the result.
  • The standard is written in public, with consumer advocates at the table and industry votes capped at one third.
  • Every decision, suspension and revocation will be on a public registry.

Help set the standard

We are recruiting founding advisors and our first ten products in AI companions, eldercare and home robots. Tell us who you are and how you’d like to take part.

Write to info@humanincharge.org Email us
  • ProducersJoin the Founding Cohort and certify at cost in exchange for a public case study.
  • ExpertsRobot safety, AI security, child safety, consumer protection: review the draft or join the Standards Council.
  • Families and organizationsComment on the Directives during the public comment period.