[Rats] [Use Case] RATS for Hardware-Enforced State Management in Autonomous Agents (AIGA)

[Edward Aylward <[e-mail]>]

Hi RATS WG,

I am writing to request feedback on a specific use case for Remote
Attestation described in my recent individual submission: "Artificial
Intelligence Governance Architecture (AIGA)" (draft-aylward-aiga-00).

While the draft covers broader application-layer governance, Section 5.1
specifically proposes a mechanism for "Hardware-Enforced Termination" of
high-risk autonomous agents using TEEs. I believe this aligns with the RATS
architecture, and I am seeking the group's insight on the feasibility of
the attestation flow.

The Problem:
Current "kill switches" for autonomous agents are implemented in software.
If an agent (or the host OS) is compromised or misaligned, it can simply
ignore the termination signal.

The Proposed Solution (RATS Integration):
The draft defines a "Risk Class 5" Agent that MUST execute within a TEE.
The enforcement mechanism relies on a periodic "Attestation Heartbeat":

1. The Prover (Agent Hardware): Generates a periodic Quote (EAT) certifying
the hash of the running kernel/binary and the freshness of the session.
2. The Verifier (Governance Node): Validates the Quote against the Platform
Endorsement Key (PEK).
3. The Relying Party (Network Peer): Drops all traffic if the Verifier does
not publish a fresh "Liveness Token" for that Agent.

My Questions for the WG:
1. Does the RATS architecture support a model where the "Relying Party"
(the network peer) is distinct from the "Verifier" (the Governance Node) in
a real-time loop?
2. Are there existing EAT claims (CWT/JWT) best suited for representing
"Operational State" (e.g., Active vs. Terminated), or would this require a
custom profile?

I would appreciate any guidance on whether this use case fits within the
current RATS charter or if there are existing profiles I should reference
to align Section 5.1 with standard practices.

Link to Draft: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-aylward-aiga/

Best regards,

Edward Richard Aylward Jr.