EvidenceOS
EvidenceOS is the software we built to do our evidence work. It turns documents, spreadsheets and archives into linked, checked databases, where every value traces back to its page and quote.
It is not a product and clients don’t use it. You receive what it produces.
What it does
- Brings sources in
- PDFs, scanned pages, Word files, saved web pages and spreadsheets. Scanned pages are read with text recognition. Every page, table and row gets a permanent reference.
- Takes them apart
- Tables are pulled out of documents. Laws and reports are split into numbered sections and paragraphs, with headings, definitions and amendments recognised.
- Builds databases
- Many spreadsheets are combined into one, with their columns matched. We design each database by choosing its columns, then fill it with fixed rules first, and AI only where rules can’t do the job.
- Keeps every value honest
- Each value carries its source, page and quote, and a record of how it was found: by rule, by AI, by mapping or by hand. An AI answer is rejected or flagged if its words are not in the source. Doubtful values are flagged and can’t be approved in bulk.
- Review
- Nothing is final until a person approves it. Every change is logged and can be undone.
- Checks
- Duplicates, totals against official totals, swapped columns, gaps, outliers, coverage and year-to-date figures. Errors in the source itself are flagged and kept, not quietly corrected.
- Links
- Values are connected to reference lists of public bodies, provinces, municipalities and financial periods, including names that have changed over time.
- Repeats
- A sequence of steps that worked once can run again on new sources, with no AI.
- Hands over
- See What you receive below.
Where AI fits
AI has a narrow job in EvidenceOS. Fixed rules do the work first. AI is used only where a rule can’t, and its answer is checked word for word against the source: if the words are not there, it is rejected or flagged. A person then reviews it.
We can also ask EvidenceOS for a result in plain words. It chooses from its own tools, shows us the plan and runs only when we click. It can’t approve, delete or export anything.
Your data
EvidenceOS runs on our own machine. Where your material holds personal data, names are removed or replaced before any AI step. We choose the AI provider for each task, including models that run on our own machine. Backups leave it only encrypted. Whether AI may be used on your material at all is agreed with you before you share it.
What you receive
Each job ends with a data pack: the data files in CSV and Excel, a list of the columns in each table, the sources and a README. Single tables can also be exported as CSV, Excel, Markdown, Word or PDF.
Where you can see the method
Have records that need to answer a question?
Tell us what you are working with. We will tell you plainly whether we are the right fit.