Definition
Plain language
A statement about something that is either true or false — like 'this file exists' or 'this user is trusted.'
As stated in the literature
A boolean-valued condition over one or more variables or a system state; in evidence-carrying agent architectures, privileged actions are authorized only when the required predicates are certified true, and in formal methods predicates express preconditions, postconditions, and invariants.
Also called: predicates
Why it matters: It matters because tying sensitive actions to true-or-false conditions lets a system authorize them only when the required facts genuinely hold.
For example, before deleting a file, an agent might have to satisfy the predicate 'the user has confirmed this action.'
Heard on the show
“Write the predicate as code.”Episode 233 — Why a Model Can Grade an Answer But Not Write the Answer Key