Assessment Scale
All technologies in the catalog are evaluated along two independent dimensions.
Autonomy Level (A0–A3)
Measures operational independence from the cloud and the internet.
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| A0 | Cloud-bound – requires constant internet connection and external accounts to function. |
| A1 | Online-dependent – can work offline partially, but still needs occasional external services or authentication. |
| A2 | Offline-capable – works completely without internet; data stored locally, but may lack built-in data export or recovery mechanisms. |
| A3 | Fully autonomous – offline-first, local data storage, full data export, and built-in pause/exit/recoverability. |
Transparency Level (T0–T2)
Measures architectural openness and auditability.
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| T0 | Closed – no public documentation of internals; source code not available. |
| T1 | Documented – architecture is described in public documents (whitepapers, security guides), but source code may be closed. |
| T2 | Open-source – source code is publicly available under an OSI-approved license; fully auditable. |
Relationship with whose.world criteria
The whose.world framework provides the philosophical foundation for TAS. The full Infrastructure Audit applies eight questions to any technology. They map to the scales as follows:
Three structural questions – Autonomy Level
- Pause – can you stop the system at any moment?
- Exit – can you leave with all your data?
- Recoverability – can you roll back to a previous state?
These three directly determine the A-level. A system where all three are “yes” is A3. A system where all three are “no” is A0.
Visibility – Transparency Level
- Visibility – can you inspect how the system works?
This determines the T-level. Open source with an OSI license = T2. Documented but closed = T1. Opaque = T0.
Five diagnostic questions – beyond A/T
The A/T rating is necessary but not sufficient. Five additional questions reveal forces that the rating alone doesn’t capture:
- Personalisation – does it build a behavioural model of you?
- Urgency – does it manufacture time pressure?
- Hidden cost – what do you pay besides money?
- Transparency fragility – does its value depend on your ignorance?
- Trajectory – is the project moving toward openness or closure?
A tool can be A3/T2 today and still have aggressive telemetry, hidden costs, or a closing trajectory. The A/T rating tells you where the tool stands. The diagnostic questions tell you what’s pulling at it – and where it’s headed.
Together, they form a complete picture of technological sovereignty.