v1.0 · Open Publication · ThinkNEO Stewarded

The Runtime Protocol
for AI Governance

A wire-level specification for how governance signals flow between AI runtimes, control planes, policy engines, and audit ledgers.

15Sections
3Conformance Levels
RFC 2119IETF Keywords
Read the SpecApply for Conformance License

// The Gap

Why AIRGP

Every existing AI standard addresses a valid concern. None of them define a wire-level protocol for runtime governance signals.

NIST AI RMF

Framework

Risk management framework, not wire protocol

Runtime ProtocolNO

EU AI Act

Regulation

Regulation/law, not protocol

Runtime ProtocolNO

ISO/IEC 42001

Certification

Management system certification, not runtime

Runtime ProtocolNO

IEEE 7000

Process

Design process standards, pre-deployment

Runtime ProtocolNO

MCP (Anthropic)

Tool Protocol

Tool-use protocol, different layer

Runtime ProtocolNO

OWASP LLM Top 10

Taxonomy

Vulnerability taxonomy, not protocol

Runtime ProtocolNO

AIRGP unifies the runtime governance layer.

A wire-level protocol that defines how governance signals -- policies, guardrail verdicts, telemetry, audit records, cost accounting, provenance attestations -- flow between AI runtimes and their governance infrastructure. Not a framework. Not a regulation. A protocol.

AIRGPWire Protocol

// Protocol Architecture

Four-Layer Governance Stack

AIRGP defines a layered architecture where governance signals flow through four distinct planes, from runtime to ledger.

Audit Ledger

Layer 4

Tamper-evident, hash-chained, Merkle-anchored audit records

Hash-chained entriesMerkle anchoringImmutable trail

Policy Engine

Layer 3

Evaluates governance policies and emits guardrail verdicts

Guardrail evaluationPolicy signingCost cap enforcement

Control Plane

Layer 2

Orchestrates governance signal flow between components

Signal routingWorkload identityConfiguration distribution

Runtime Adapter

Layer 1

Bridges AI runtimes to the governance protocol layer

Runtime instrumentationTelemetry emissionProvenance tagging
Wire Protocol

Media Type

application/airgp+json
RequiredJSON / HTTPSMUST implement
OptionalgRPCOPTIONAL support
Identity & Attestation
  • Workload identity for all governance actors
  • Cryptographic policy signing
  • Provenance attestation chains
  • Mutual TLS between governance endpoints
Observability

All AIRGP governance signals map to OpenTelemetry spans and metrics. Traces carry governance context across service boundaries. Audit events are emitted as structured log records with hash-chain references.

// Policy Primitives

Six Core Governance Signals

Guardrails

Input/output policy enforcement at wire level

Routing Rules

Traffic steering based on governance signals

Cost Caps

Per-request and per-session cost accounting

Data Boundaries

Data residency and boundary enforcement

Provenance

Cryptographic attestation of AI outputs

Observability

OpenTelemetry-mapped governance telemetry

// Conformance Levels

Three Tiers of Conformance

AIRGP conformance follows the Bluetooth SIG model -- implementations must pass conformance testing and obtain a license to claim compliance.

Level 1

Basic

Essential runtime governance signals

  • JSON/HTTPS transport (MUST)
  • Guardrail request/response cycle
  • Basic telemetry emission
  • Audit event logging
  • Policy acknowledgment signals
Target: Startups & individual runtimes
Level 2

Enterprise

Full policy engine + audit ledger integration

  • Everything in Basic
  • Full policy engine integration
  • Hash-chained audit ledger
  • Workload identity & mTLS
  • OpenTelemetry governance spans
  • Cost accounting signals
  • Provenance attestation
Target: Enterprise AI platforms
Level 3

Sovereign

Data residency, regulatory compliance, sovereign cloud

  • Everything in Enterprise
  • Data residency enforcement
  • Regulatory compliance signals
  • Sovereign cloud support
  • Merkle-anchored audit proof
  • Cross-jurisdiction attestation
  • National AI policy mapping
Target: Governments & regulated industries
AIRGP Conformance License

Following the Bluetooth SIG model, the AIRGP Conformance License grants implementors the right to claim AIRGP compliance after passing conformance testing. The license is free for Basic, fee-based for Enterprise and Sovereign.

First Conformant ImplementationThinkNEO Control Plane

// Layered Governance

AIRGP + A2ASTC

Two complementary protocols that together provide complete AI governance coverage: per-agent and per-team.

AIRGP

Per-Agent Governance
Always On

Every AI runtime participant carries AIRGP governance signals at all times. Guardrails, cost caps, provenance, and audit records flow continuously through every request.

  • Wire-level governance signals
  • Per-request policy enforcement
  • Continuous audit trail
  • Individual agent compliance

A2ASTC

Per-Team Compliance
Activates on A2A Pairs

A2ASTC activates when two or more agents form a bidirectional A2A pair. It governs team-level compliance, delegation rules, and cross-agent accountability.

  • Team-level compliance rules
  • Bidirectional A2A pair governance
  • Delegation and accountability chains
  • Multi-agent coordination compliance
AIRGP
+
A2ASTC
=
Joint Conformance Label
Visit a2astc.space

// About AIRGP

Stewardship, Not Ownership

AIRGP is stewarded by ThinkNEO as a public specification. The protocol is openly published; implementations require conformance licensing.

Protocol Steward

ThinkNEO AI Technology Company Limited

ThinkNEO acts as steward, not vendor. The protocol specification is openly published under CC-BY-ND-4.0. ThinkNEO maintains the conformance testing suite, chairs the initial steering committee, and provides the first reference implementation.

Hong Kong

NVIDIA Inception

Member of the NVIDIA Inception Program

Anthropic Partner Network

Official Anthropic technology partner

USP/ICMC Agents4Gov

Research collaboration on AI governance agents

Licensing Model
Specification Text

Published openly under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0.

CC-BY-ND-4.0
Implementations

Require an AIRGP Conformance License to claim compliance. Modeled after the Bluetooth SIG licensing framework.

AIRGP Conformance License
Steering Committee

The AIRGP Steering Committee will include representatives from industry, academia, and government. Composition and charter details will be published alongside the v1.0 final specification.

Coming Soon
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