The value of PAI certification rests on the independence of the standard that underpins it. This page states our policy on vendor relationships and commercial influence — clearly, without qualification.
PAI does not accept sponsorship, funding, or material support from AI model vendors (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta AI, Mistral AI, or any other), cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or any other), or any company whose commercial interests could be affected by the content of the Production Safety Framework. This prohibition applies to the institution, the Framework Committee, and the Assessment Board.
The content of the Production Safety Framework is not for sale. No organisation may pay to have specific content included, emphasised, or excluded from the PSF. Framework changes are made solely on the basis of practitioner-submitted evidence, public comment, and Committee deliberation. Sponsorship of PAI research or events does not confer any influence over framework content.
PAI certification assessors (for CPAP and CPAA reviews) are required to be financially independent of the organisations they assess. An assessor who holds equity in, is employed by, or has a material commercial relationship with an applicant is recused from that assessment. Recusal decisions are made by the Assessment Board and are logged.
WorkflowOS Studio is a tool used by practitioners to build and document production AI workflows. PAI offers WorkflowOS Studio as a practical aid for practitioners preparing CPAP portfolio evidence. Holding or not holding a WorkflowOS subscription has no effect on certification eligibility, assessment criteria, or assessment outcomes. Assessors are blind to whether an applicant uses WorkflowOS. Certification can be achieved using any tooling, or no tooling.
PAI is funded by certification fees — the fees paid by practitioners for CPAP and CPAA assessments, and by organisations for CAI and CAE recognition. AIDA and AIMA are offered at no charge to maximise access to the credential. WorkflowOS subscription revenue supports platform development. No revenue stream creates a financial incentive to lower certification standards or favour any specific technology approach.
If you believe PAI has acted in a manner inconsistent with this independence policy, we want to know. Concerns may be submitted to the Assessment Board via the contact page. Concerns about the Assessment Board itself may be submitted to the Framework Committee. All submissions are reviewed within 14 days and a written response is provided.