The Answer Contract•Canonical Epistemic Specification

The 13-Field Answer Contract

AION enforces an immutable thirteen-field contract on all analytical queries. Unlike conversational AI models that return unverified text, AION guarantees that every synthesis is bound to structural evidence, temporal limits, verifiable citations, and explicit limitations.

Epistemic Strength Levels (Field 11)

STRONG

Corroborated by official primary gazettes, multiple independent accredited outlets, and clear timestamps.

MODERATE

Multiple reputable media reports; pending official government circular confirmation.

WEAK

Single-source attribution or uncorroborated institutional statement.

INSUFFICIENT

Conflicting unverified reports with zero primary documentation. Refuses to speculate.

The 13 Mandatory Fields

#	Field Name	TypeScript Type	Epistemic Purpose
01	answer	string	Synthesized analytical briefing answering the query directly with clear epistemic transparency. Not an uncited hallucination.
02	timeRange	{ start: ISOString, end: ISOString }	Explicit temporal boundaries defining the observation window. Answers are always anchored in time.
03	scope	{ domains: string[], geography: string }	Monitored domain category (e.g. ['education']) and territorial boundary (e.g. 'Nigeria' or specific State).
04	observations	Observation[]	Atomic structured propositions extracted directly from verified evidence items with sentence-level citations.
05	events	Event[]	Empirical occurrences anchored in time and space (e.g. strike declaration, gazette signing), distinct from commentary.
06	claims	Claim[]	Propositions asserted by named public figures or institutions, linked to corroborating and refuting citations.
07	signals	Signal[]	Empirical statistical deltas: frequency surge percentages, 90-day baseline deviations, and emerging topics.
08	evidence	EvidenceCitation[]	Direct canonical source URLs paired with immutable SHA-256 content hashes and collection timestamps.
09	sources	SourceCitation[]	Attributed publishing origins, domain classification, accreditation level, and historical reliability ratings.
10	contradictions	Contradiction[]	First-class divergence objects connecting opposing claims between actors (e.g., ministry announcement vs union rebuttal).
11	evidenceStrength	'strong' \| 'moderate' \| 'weak' \| 'insufficient'	Rigorous epistemic rating reflecting multi-source corroboration, primary documentation depth, and sampling density.
12	limitations	string[]	Mandatory disclosures of coverage blind spots, reporting lags, state-level data omissions, or unverified claims.
13	methodology	Methodology	Algorithmic extraction parameters, retrieval graph trajectory, model interpreter version, and execution timestamp.

Canonical JSON Response Specimen

Q01 Benchmark Payload

{
  "answer": "Over the past 30 days, Nigerian education discourse transitioned sharply from secondary school examination scheduling to tertiary funding mechanisms following the presidential student loan board rollout and ASUU funding disputes.",
  "timeRange": {
    "start": "2026-08-20T00:00:00Z",
    "end": "2026-09-19T23:59:59Z"
  },
  "scope": {
    "domains": ["education"],
    "geography": "Nigeria"
  },
  "observations": [
    {
      "id": "obs_8a1c9e",
      "statement": "NELFUND announced disbursement of N2.5 billion in tertiary student loan tranches across 24 state institutions.",
      "evidenceId": "evi_910fa4"
    }
  ],
  "events": [
    {
      "id": "evt_4b2c1d",
      "title": "NELFUND Phase II Disbursement Rollout",
      "eventTime": "2026-09-02T10:00:00Z",
      "location": "Abuja, Nigeria"
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "clm_7f3e1a",
      "speaker": "Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)",
      "statement": "Student loan disbursement figures fail to cover institutional overhead and infrastructure deficits.",
      "corroborationLevel": "high"
    }
  ],
  "signals": [
    {
      "topic": "Tertiary Student Loans",
      "deltaPercentage": "+184.2%",
      "baselineDeviation": "3.4 sigma"
    }
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "evidenceId": "evi_910fa4",
      "canonicalUrl": "https://gazettes.gov.ng/circulars/2026/nelfund-disbursement-02.pdf",
      "contentHash": "e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855",
      "publishedAt": "2026-09-02T08:30:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "sourceId": "src_fed_gov",
      "name": "Federal Government Official Gazette",
      "reliabilityScore": 0.98
    }
  ],
  "contradictions": [
    {
      "id": "cnt_19a84b",
      "claimAId": "clm_gov_success",
      "claimBId": "clm_7f3e1a",
      "summary": "Dispute between Federal Ministry of Education and ASUU regarding loan allocation efficacy."
    }
  ],
  "evidenceStrength": "strong",
  "limitations": [
    "Primary state-level circulars for 8 Northern states were unavailable via digital gazettes at collection time.",
    "Student union polling reflects localized urban campuses and is not representative of all polytechnics."
  ],
  "methodology": {
    "reasoningPath": "relational_temporal_graph_v1",
    "modelInterpreter": "gemini-1.5-pro",
    "queryTimestamp": "2026-09-20T14:40:00Z"
  }
}

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