A Gray Box Conceptual Model for Accountability and Ethics in Business Contracts

Abstract

Current computational models are inadequate for the purposes of modeling interactions between autonomous parties in a way that highlights and supports their accountability. We propose a new conceptual model for business contracts based on norms motivated by a review of real-life business contracts. Our conception is of a gray box, reflecting the idea that a contract makes the participants accountable to one another and to outside entities, and therefore calls for the exposure of sufficient implementation details. The model consists of a recursively applicable taxonomy of clause types. In a preliminary study, we found that computer scientists are able to effectively identify the concepts introduced in this model, thereby indicating its potential for building Internet applications that support accountability.