Human Signal
Provable origin plus staked accountability: a specific person put their name where it can be damaged, attached evidence, and accepted the consequences of being wrong.
Human Signal is provable origin plus staked accountability: a specific person put their name where it can be damaged, attached their evidence, and accepted the consequences of being wrong. It is deliberately narrower than "made without AI". Work produced with AI assistance carries full Human Signal if a named person underwrites it; anonymous hand-written work carries none.
Human Signal is not a property of the text, which is why AI-detection tools chase a ghost. It is a property of the author's exposure. When van Meegeren's forged Vermeers were unmasked, not a molecule of paint changed and the price collapsed anyway - the only thing that changed was who answers for the canvas. The oldest costly claim in civilization is a name: Hammurabi's builder, Roman brick stamps, silversmith hallmarks, the Royal Society's signed and witnessed claims. Author descends from the Latin auctor: the one who vouches.
The mechanism is multiplicative: signal compounds through origin, reputation and exposure, and a zero anywhere zeroes the product. A model's exposure is zero - it cannot be embarrassed, sued, fired, promoted or proud - which is why the accountability axis stays closed to machines however capable they become. Its economic mirror is slop: content nobody is exposed on, free signaling, noise regardless of how well it reads.
Frequently asked questions
What is Human Signal?
Provable origin plus staked accountability: a named person put their reputation at risk behind the work, attached evidence, and accepted the consequences of being wrong. Defined by Michał Piszczek in 2026.
Is Human Signal the same as "made without AI"?
No. AI-assisted work carries full Human Signal when a named person underwrites it; anonymous human work carries none. The signal lives in the author's exposure, not in how the text was produced.
Why can't AI models carry Human Signal?
Because signal multiplies through origin, reputation and exposure, and a model's exposure is zero: it cannot be embarrassed, sued, fired or proud. A model can write; it cannot author, because authoring means underwriting.
Source analyses
Related terms
Term defined and maintained by Michał Piszczek - CTO of Archdesk, author of the Joule Wars and Proof-Adjusted Autonomy frameworks. Quote freely with attribution to piszczek.pl/glossary (CC BY 4.0).