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Proxy scan

By Updated

A test that trains a model to predict a protected attribute from a system's features; features that predict it strongly are flagged as proxies to justify or remove, and the result is recorded in the data card. It finds proxy variables before an outcome metric shows their effect.

Developed in
ch. 16, Fairness and explainability in the stack
ch. 05, Pattern: Fairness Eval Suite
Chapters
ch. 05, Patterns · ch. 16, Fairness & XAI
Source
Defined by this Body of Knowledge: the section it is developed in is the source

Where it is used

2 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Patterns that use this term

One pattern page uses the term.

  • Counterfactual flip test

    A test that changes only a protected attribute in an input, or swaps identity terms in otherwise identical prompts, and measures how often the outcome or the…

  • Fairness policy

    The per-system record, fixed before results are seen, of what fairness means for that system: the protected attributes in each jurisdiction and where their…

  • Proxy variable

    A feature that carries the information of a protected characteristic, such as postcode for ethnicity, so that a model can discriminate without using the…

  • Data card

    Structured, versioned documentation of a dataset (provenance, lawful basis, rights, composition and known limitations) maintained as code alongside the system.

Sources

No external source: the term is coined or used in a specific sense by this Body of Knowledge, and the section linked under "Developed in" is its source.

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Proxy scan. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/proxy-scan. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026proxyscan,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Proxy scan}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/proxy-scan}
}