HumanSeal

Plain English first

How the Human Involvement Index works

We score how much human skill still drives a company's work. The badge is public — anyone can read the profile and decide for themselves.

The short version

  • What we measure: How much real people still do the work — not just machines and software.
  • The scale: More automation on one side, more human craft on the other. Where does this company sit?
  • Our promise: People lead. AI supports.
  • Listed: The company answered our questions. Checked: We looked at their proof files and they matched.
  • About AI: We cheer for tools that help workers. We flag when automation replaces human roles.

Five questions we ask

Each industry has its own rubric, but every score rests on these five ideas. Weights may shift by field.

30%

Who makes it?

Hands-on people or mostly machines?

Human Labor Share — Share of productive time on this product performed by people rather than fully automated machines or AI.

20%

Who decides?

Humans in charge, or software alone?

Human Decision Share — Share of critical decisions (design, quality control, exceptions) owned by humans rather than automated systems.

20%

Good jobs?

Fair pay, training, and career paths?

Skill & Wage Quality — Skill level of the roles, wages relative to a living wage, and investment in training.

15%

Workers OK?

Safe workplace and real benefits?

Worker Welfare & Benefits — Benefits, health & safety systems, and worker representation beyond the legal minimum.

15%

Jobs growing with AI?

Using AI to help workers, not cut them?

Stewardship Trajectory — Whether the company augments or displaces workers as it adopts AI and automation over time.

Profile levels

Public pages show a level name — not a school grade. The number (0–100) appears on full profiles for auditors.

People-led80–100Skilled people drive the work — smart tools lend a hand
Human-strong65–79Human teams lead; AI handles the repetitive tasks
Balanced50–64A thoughtful mix of human craft and useful automation
Tech-assisted35–49Machines handle volume — people still steer quality
Automation-first0–34Mostly automated — we're open about where humans still matter

Technical formula (auditors)

For reviewers who need the math behind the public level names.

HII index = Σ (pillar_weight × pillar_value) × 100
        subject to mandatory minimum gates

Minimum rules (Checked tier)

A company cannot hide a weak area behind a strong overall score. These floors must be met to earn a Checked badge.

  • ≥ 30%Core production must involve a meaningful share of human labor.
  • ≥ 40%Company must not be actively displacing workers through layoffs.
  • ≥ 40%Basic worker welfare and safety standards must be met.

Listing tiers

  1. 1. Listed (free)

    Company answered our questions. Badge says Listed — they reported this themselves.

  2. 2. Checked ($199/year)

    Company uploads proof. We check it matches what they said. Badge says Checked — we looked at their files.

  3. 3. HumanSeal Certified (Coming 2026)

    Independent audit and on-pack seal. Not available yet.

What to upload

AI-Validated checks that your documents mention human labor and align with your self-assessment. Upload readable text exports — not scanned PDFs in this MVP.

Requirements

  • At least 2 files
  • Formats: .txt, .csv, .md, .json (max 5MB each)
  • Combined text should exceed ~200 characters of readable content
  • Include payroll/labor or production routing when claiming high human involvement

Categories

  • Payroll / labor hours — hours by department, roles, human vs machine assist
  • Turnover / headcount — hiring, layoffs, headcount changes (must match stewardship answers)
  • Training & reskilling — reskilling, redeployment, retention programs
  • Production routing / BOM — routing steps, who owns QC, hand vs automated steps
  • Other supporting docs

Sample file packs

Download, then upload through the form below with the suggested category for each file. Set A is for testing a passing validation; Set B shows common failure patterns.

Set A — Strong match (likely to pass)

Rich payroll, production routing, and training docs with clear human labor and positive stewardship language. Use with a high-score self-assessment (gates passed).

Pass example

Set C — Professional services (consulting / agencies)

Billable hours and delivery workflow for creative & professional services. Best fit for counseling, agencies, and consultancies (e.g. HS-CNS serials).

Pass example

Set B — Weak / mismatch (likely to fail)

Too little content plus layoff language. Use to see validation errors — do not submit real brands with contradictory evidence.

Fail example

Redact personal names and wages before uploading real company data. Validation uses keyword and consistency checks today — a human reviewer may follow up on AI-Validated subscriptions.

Ready for your profile?

Free questions. Share your badge when you are ready.

Get your free profile

HumanSeal methodology v0.1.0 · subject to revision as the standard develops.