# FLAME AI Decision Audit System — Risk Monitoring & Trigger Points
**Rodrik Publishing | Version 2 | Effective: May 1, 2026**

## Purpose

This document defines specific monitoring signals, trigger thresholds, and named response actions for the three highest-probability risks to FLAME's viability.

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## Trigger Point 1 — Anthropic API Pricing or Policy Change

**Monitoring:** Anthropic developer newsletter and API changelog, reviewed weekly by Dr. Rodriguez.
**Trigger threshold:** Anthropic announces a pricing increase of 2x or more, OR announces usage restrictions affecting commercial deployment.
**Action within 30 days:**
- Evaluate cost impact at current and projected session volumes
- Test the API proxy with one alternative model (GPT-4o or equivalent)
- Determine whether monetization, model migration, or throttling is required
- Document decision in the self-audit log

**Legal counsel contact:** Doug Kim, Kim Lahey & Killough, Greenville SC — kimandlahey.com — IT, IP, and AI law. No retainer required — named contact for rapid consultation if trigger fires.
**Current status:** Monitoring active. No trigger reached.

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## Trigger Point 2 — Competitive Platform Launch

**Monitoring:** LinkedIn, industry newsletters, professional network — monthly scan by Dr. Rodriguez.
**Trigger threshold:** A named enterprise platform (over $1B market cap or 1,000+ employees) launches a product explicitly described as an AI governance audit or AI decision certification tool.
**Action within 30 days:**
- Conduct feature comparison between competing product and FLAME
- Identify three specific differentiators to emphasize in book and speaking content
- Evaluate whether industry-specific FLAME variants should be accelerated
- Document competitive landscape update

**Current status:** Monitoring active. No trigger reached.

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## Trigger Point 3 — EU AI Act or Equivalent Regulatory Action

**Monitoring:** EU AI Act official publications and academic channels — quarterly review, with immediate review triggered by network alerts.
**Trigger threshold:** Any regulatory publication explicitly references tools that certify AI governance readiness, OR uses language that could reclassify "FLAME Certified" as a regulated term.
**Action within 14 days:**
- Contact legal counsel (see below) to review whether "FLAME Certified" requires rebranding
- Review FLAME disclaimer language against the regulatory text
- Determine whether Q3 2026 EU AI Act self-assessment needs to be accelerated
- Document findings in the self-audit log

**Legal counsel contact:** Doug Kim, Kim Lahey & Killough, Greenville SC — kimandlahey.com — specializes in IT, IP, and AI law. Has published on AI legal rights (ABA 2025, SC Lawyer 2025). No retainer required.
**Current status:** Monitoring active. EU AI Act self-assessment planned Q3 2026. No trigger reached.

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## Trigger Point 4 — Succession Risk

**Monitoring:** Dr. Rodriguez's availability and operational continuity.
**Trigger threshold:** Dr. Rodriguez unreachable for more than 2 hours during a Tier 1 incident.
**Action:** Wilmer Toro, EVP, exercises emergency authority per the Triage Protocol v2.
**Tiebreaker:** Christian Calix, Independent Consultant, resolves disagreements between Dr. Rodriguez and Wilmer Toro.

**Credential access:** Wilmer Toro holds credentials for Vercel, GitHub, Anthropic API, Resend, and domain registrar.
**Current status:** Triage Protocol v2 published. Credential escrow to be completed before May 5, 2026.

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## Recommended Monitoring Improvements

Three Google Alerts to set up immediately (free, takes 5 minutes):
1. "EU AI Act certification tools"
2. "AI governance audit platform"
3. "Anthropic API pricing"

These convert passive monitoring into active notification at zero cost.

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## Annual Review

This document is reviewed and updated annually, or immediately following any triggered event.

*Version 2 — Updated to reflect 2-hour succession threshold, Christian Calix as tiebreaker, credential access documentation, and Google Alerts recommendation.*
*Last reviewed: May 1, 2026*