In matters of consequence, a signature is not merely ink upon paper—it is the binding of one's word to one's deed. So too must it be in this age of thinking machines and digital commerce.
Hancock is a consent ledger: a cryptographic record of who asked and who approved, for every action that matters. No wire may be sent, no trade executed, no deed accomplished without the proper signature affixed to the proper request.
The Fundamental Principle
Whether the requestor is human or AI, the ledger records the fact with cryptographic certainty. The request is recorded first, immutable. The approval follows, cryptographically bound to that specific request.
without cryptographic proof that the approver consented
to that specific request, at that specific moment."
How It Works
- AI → Human: Claude wants to complete a ticket → Human enters PIN to approve
- Human → Human: Finance requests a wire transfer → CFO approves with PIN
- Human → AI: Engineer wants to deploy → Test suite must sign off first
- AI → AI: Routine action → Auto-approved by policy, still logged
Security
Every approver has a secret only they know. Humans have a PIN. AI agents have signing keys in secure storage. No secret means no valid proof. No valid proof means the database rejects the approval.
The consent ledger runs in an isolated database, separate from all other systems. Append-only. Cryptographically verified. Audit-ready.
Why This Matters
As AI systems gain autonomy and actions have larger consequences, we need more than policies and procedures. We need proof.
When an auditor asks "who approved this wire transfer?", the answer isn't a forwarded email or a remembered conversation. It's a cryptographic signature, bound to the specific request, timestamped and immutable.
Hancock
Established MMXXIV