Identity Is Not Authority

The Missing Boundary in Agentic AI

Technical NotePublication-ReadyPublishedAvailable for ReviewRights AvailablePublic Preview

This work is publication-ready and available for publisher, licensing, or strategic review unless and until publication rights, exclusive review rights, or another contractual arrangement is accepted.

Published: Zenodo · PDF · 10.5281/zenodo.22133185 · 2026-08-27 · Open publication

Complete manuscript available for publisher, licensing, or strategic review. This page provides a controlled public sample only.

Discovery metadata

Keywords

Agentic AIAI agentsStable Authority BoundarySABAI identityrecognized authorityauthenticationauthorizationaccess controldelegated authorityexecution governancedeterministic refusalAI governanceautonomous systemsconsequential executionNIST
PUBLIC SAMPLE

Sample Section

Technical response to NIST’s discussion of identity in agentic AI, examining the architectural distinction between authenticated identity and recognized authority. The paper distinguishes identity, authentication, access, permission, capability, evidence, and authority, and argues that consequential execution should proceed only when recognized authority can be established.