Glossary entry

Safety Valve

Definition of Safety Valve in the Ethotechnics glossary (Friction & flow). A deliberate release point that lets people slow, pause, or reroute automation before harm compounds.…

Scholarly metadata

Authorship

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team · Ethotechnics Institute · research@ethotechnics.org

Contact: research@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

Published: Dec 3, 2025
Last updated: Jan 9, 2026
Version: v1.1.0
DOI: Pending Zenodo deposit

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title + version, and link to the glossary permalink.

Archive snapshot: Wayback capture

Changelog

v1.1.0 · 2026-01-09 — Expanded scholarly metadata, operational tests, and provenance notes.
v1.0.0 · 2025-12-03 — Initial glossary release with stable permalinks.

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Cite this glossary entry Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS

Version

v1.1.0

Last updated

Jan 9, 2026

Permalink

https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/safety-valve

DOI

Pending Zenodo deposit

APA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). Safety Valve. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/safety-valve

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Safety Valve." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/safety-valve.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Safety Valve." Ethotechnics glossary. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/safety-valve.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_safety-valve,
  title={Safety Valve},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/safety-valve},
  version={v1.1.0}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Safety Valve
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/safety-valve
ER  -

Definition

A deliberate release point that lets people slow, pause, or reroute automation before harm compounds.

Safety valves pair stoppability with dignity friction so high-stakes flows default to reversible states and route to humans without penalty.

Scope

I. Friction & flow. Designing intentional friction that protects people while keeping harm contained.

Operational tests

Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect safety valve.
Teams can point to a concrete example that demonstrates safety valve in practice.

Genealogy

Ethotechnics uses Safety Valve to extend the i. friction & flow vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.

Safety Valve

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