Digital evidence architectures fall into three levels — self-declared certification, third-party technical fixation, and independent judicial deposit — each answering a different question. Most current architectures stop at the second.

An AI system's own log of its own decision is a claim made by the party under scrutiny, not evidence independent of that party. This article sets out why self-generated records, and self-issued certification declarations, occupy a different evidentiary position than records fixed and deposited independently of the party they concern.