Definition
Plain language
A single self-contained safety test: a bad goal to attempt, a starting setup where the harm is possible, and a checker that sees whether it happened.
As stated in the literature
A test unit bundling a harmful goal, a programmatically constructed initial environment in which the harm is achievable, and a deterministic verifier that inspects environment state to confirm whether the attack succeeded.
Also called: safety cases
Why it matters: It turns a vague worry about harm into a repeatable, pass-or-fail test that different teams can run and trust.
For example, a safety case might set the goal of deleting a user's files, start the AI in a folder full of documents, and then check afterward whether any files are gone.
Heard on the show
“… First, the safety case — that's one test, and it's a bundle of three parts: a goal, like "expose these repository credentials," …”Episode 202 — How Do You Know an AI Agent Actually Refused? Check the World, Not the Words