A field guide to AI positions

Data provenance

Source is over 18 months old.

Publication dates and source age

Sources counted: 1

Newest dated source: 2013-04-30

Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

Open in the glossary Reading notes · Structured record

In plain language

A record of where data came from and how it changed. It helps people assess evidence but does not prove the data is correct. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

Limits & distinctions

An origin record and a truth assessment answer different questions. Knowing who supplied a claim helps investigation; the claim and the record can still require checking. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

A fuller explanation

Provenance describes the sources, people and processes involved in producing data. It can record that one dataset was derived from another, who carried out a step, and which version was used. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

How it relates to the map

Map context: we use provenance to let readers inspect the origin of claims. It is a documentation practice, not a political position. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

Share this page

https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/data-provenance/

Download a share image · Vector image

Image previews are summaries. Keep the page link so readers can check the evidence.

Sources and what we read

  1. 1. PROV-Overview

    Source is over 18 months old.

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2013-04-30

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read the abstract and introduction to the PROV family, including entities, people, activities and derivation. Provenance supports assessment of reliability; the document does not make a recorded origin proof of truth.

Edition and machine-readable evidence

Content version 0.20.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.

Pinned complete dataset · Complete evidence page · Agent consumption guide