Criterion V2 — Level–Evidence Match
Section titled “Criterion V2 — Level–Evidence Match”| Validity type | Interpretive |
| Pass condition | The evidence collected is sufficient to license the declared mode tag |
| Evidence family | N/A (criterion is about evidence–claim logic) |
| Minimum reporting | List of criteria met for each validity type required by the declared tag; explicit statement of any criteria not met |
| Common failure mode | Declaring [causal-mechanistic] based on necessity alone; not listing which criteria are satisfied |
What this criterion requires
Section titled “What this criterion requires”Level–evidence match checks that the declared mode tag (V1) is licensed by the evidence in hand. It is the criterion that prevents level inflation — the most common error in MI.
For each mode tag, the required evidence:
| Tag | Required criteria (minimum) |
|---|---|
[functional] | Behavioral evidence only — no validity criteria required |
[representational] | M3 (baseline separation); M5 (calibration); M1 (reliability) |
[causal-mechanistic] | I1 (necessity); I2 (sufficiency); I3 (specificity); M3 (baseline separation) |
[structural-mechanistic] | C2 (structural plausibility); I1 (necessity); M3 (baseline separation) |
[transportable] | E5 (robustness) minimum; E6 (cross-architecture) for strongest form |
To satisfy level–evidence match: list every required criterion for the declared tag; report whether each criterion was satisfied; if any required criterion is unsatisfied, the declared tag must be downgraded.
Example: SVA circuit at L8.MLP
Section titled “Example: SVA circuit at L8.MLP”Declared tag: [causal-mechanistic]
Required criteria: I1, I2, I3, M3
| Criterion | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| I1 Necessity | Partial — one ablation method only | Zero ablation only; resample not run |
| I2 Sufficiency | Open — circuit-only forward pass not run | — |
| I3 Specificity | Open — control-axis IIA not computed | — |
| M3 Baseline separation | Open — random-vector baseline not computed | — |
Verdict: Evidence does not yet license [causal-mechanistic]. Current justified tag: [representational] for L8.MLP as an SVA-associated subspace. Upgrade path: run I2 (complement ablation), I3 (control-axis IIA), M3 (random-vector baseline).
Minimum reporting rule
Section titled “Minimum reporting rule”For every published claim: list all required criteria for the declared tag, with status (satisfied/partial/open) and the specific evidence for each. If any criterion is open or partial, the verdict must be downgraded to the highest tag whose required criteria are all satisfied.