Responsibility-Aware Decision System (RADS): A Second-Order Reflection Framework

Responsibility-Aware Decision System (RADS): A Second-Order Reflection Framework This artifact presents the Responsibility-Aware Decision System (RADS), a structured reflection and questioning framework for high-impact human decision contexts. RADS does not provide recommendations, predictions, or automated decisions. Instead, it operates as a second-order reference system that separates formal correctness from responsibility and potential impact. The system is designed to surface implicit assumptions, plausible systemic effects, and unresolved uncertainties while preserving full human decision authority. The framework follows a fail-closed principle: missing or unclear information is explicitly marked and translated into questions rather than silently inferred. RADS performs no scoring, profiling, or surveillance, requires no personal data, and is designed to be compatible with data-protection and human-oversight requirements. RADS is intended as a pedagogical and analytical contribution to decision integrity, enabling reflective comparison between different lines of reasoning without replacing professional judgment.