Model, System, and Dataset Cards

Three documentation formats structure AI transparency. Model Cards (Mitchell et al. 2019) — nutrition labels for models: training data, quantitative disaggregated analyses, ethical considerations, caveats; only 0.3% of Hugging Face model cards document ethical considerations (Oreamuno et al. 2023). Datasheets for Datasets (Gebru et al. 2018, CACM) — motivation, composition, collection process, labeling, distribution, maintenance; electronics-datasheet analogy. Data Cards (Pushkarna et al., Google 2022) — modular layered detail (telescopic, periscopic, microscopic) as boundary objects for diverse readers. 2024-2025 developments: automated generation via LLMs (CardGen, Liu et al. 2024); model-card detail correlates with up to 29% download increase on HF (Liang et al. 2024); verifiable attestations (Laminator, Duddu et al. 2024); sustainability reporting additions for carbon/water (Jouneaux et al. July 2025); EU/ISO regulatory cards emerging. System Cards (Sidhpurwala 2024; Meta system-level transparency; "Blueprints of Trust" arXiv:2509.20394) — end-to-end AI system documentation covering security capabilities, prompt-injection protection, data-exfiltration detection, alignment with human values.

Prerequisites: Phase 18 · 18 (safety frameworks), Phase 18 · 24 (regulatory)