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v2026.1714 entries · CC-BY 4.0
Dictionary termTrack CStablev2026.2

Use card

A documentation artefact recording an intended deployment context for a model or system, including the user population, the decisions the model informs, the supervision regime, and out-of-scope uses.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board
· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

  • Is an instance

    A use card for a deployed clinical risk model documenting that it is to be used to triage referrals, not to make admission decisions.

  • Is an instance

    A use card stating an automatic-translation model is for first-draft assistance, not certified translation.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

  • Not an instance

    A model card describing the underlying model.

  • Not an instance

    A marketing brochure.

Editorial commentary

Use cards complement model cards by documenting the system-of-use rather than the system itself. They are particularly relevant where the same model is deployed in multiple contexts with different risk profiles (e.g., a sentiment model used for product reviews vs employee feedback). They map to the EU AI Act's distinction between providers and deployers.

References

  • Donia, Shaw, 'Modes of evaluation' (FAccT 2021).

Also known as

intended-use card · deployment card

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element
xml
<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Use card"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/use-card" />
Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)
json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "name": "Use card",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/use-card",
  "description": "A documentation artefact recording an intended deployment context for a model or system, including the user population, the decisions the model informs, the supervision regime, and out-of-scope uses.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/ai-and-ml-research-outputs/",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/use-card",
  "sameAs": [
    "intended-use card",
    "deployment card"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}

Adopted by research universities worldwide

University of Cambridge logoColumbia University logoUniversity of Edinburgh logoHarvard University logoMassachusetts Institute of Technology logoUniversity of Oxford logoPrinceton University logoStanford School of Medicine logoUniversity College London logoUniversity of Cambridge logoColumbia University logoUniversity of Edinburgh logoHarvard University logoMassachusetts Institute of Technology logoUniversity of Oxford logoPrinceton University logoStanford School of Medicine logoUniversity College London logo
  • University of Cambridge logo
  • Columbia University logo
  • University of Edinburgh logo
  • Harvard University logo
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo
  • University of Oxford logo
  • Princeton University logo
  • Stanford School of Medicine logo
  • University College London logo

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