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Contestability

Definition of Contestability in the Ethotechnics glossary (Ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do)). People affected by system decisions can challenge, change…

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Scholarly metadata

Authorship

Contact: research@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Jan 9, 2026
  • Version: v1.1.0
  • DOI: Pending Zenodo deposit

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title + version, and link to the glossary permalink.

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Changelog

  • v1.1.0 · 2026-01-09 — Expanded scholarly metadata, operational tests, and provenance notes.
  • v1.0.0 · 2025-12-03 — Initial glossary release with stable permalinks.

Copy citation (APA/BibTeX)

Cite this glossary entry Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS

Version

v1.1.0

Last updated

Jan 9, 2026

DOI

Pending Zenodo deposit

APA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). Contestability. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/contestability

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Contestability." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/contestability.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Contestability." Ethotechnics glossary. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/contestability.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_contestability,
  title={Contestability},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/contestability},
  version={v1.1.0}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Contestability
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/contestability
ER  -

Definition

People affected by system decisions can challenge, change, or overturn them—and win. Contestability combines permission surface and appeal passage rate.

Scope

C. Ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do). Design requirements that keep people safe when systems scale.

Operational tests

  • Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect contestability.
  • Teams can point to a concrete example that demonstrates contestability in practice.

Genealogy

Ethotechnics uses Contestability to extend the c. ethotechnic capabilities (what systems must be able to do) vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.