How to cite this research

Research that cannot be cited cannot be checked, and research that cannot be checked is opinion with footnotes. Every research page on this site therefore carries three things under its title: a label saying what kind of page it is, a stable identifier, and a link to the rubric it was graded against. At the foot of the page sits a citation you can copy. This page explains each.

The identifier#

Each page has an identifier of the form SS-2026-041: the series, the year it was first published, and its number within that year. Identifiers are assigned once, in order of first publication, and are never reused or renumbered. If a page is revised, the identifier stays and the "last reviewed" date moves. If a page is withdrawn, its identifier is retired and the address explains why.

The identifier is also in the page's metadata as citation_technical_report_number, alongside the author, title, date and address in the form Google Scholar and other indexes read.

DOIs are not yet minted. When they are, each identifier will carry one, the citation on the page will show it, and nothing else about the identifier will change.

The five tiers#

The label under the review date tells you how much weight to give the page before you read it.

• Evidence review. A reading of the graded studies on one question, with what each study does not prove. The studies are in the evidence base and every one is linked.
• Explainer. A term or a concept: what it means, where it came from, and where the evidence on it stands. Coined terms say so.
• Position. Rahim Hirji's argument. Read it as a position, checked against the evidence base, and not as a finding. The page What I argue lists the positions and what each does not claim.
• Essay. An argued piece. Where it leans on a study, the study is graded and linked; where it does not, it says so.
• Reference. A working reference: the evidence base, the questions map, the glossary, the timeline, the record. Kept current on every build.

The tier is set by rule, not by hand, so the same standard applies to every page. The rule is in the build code and is described on How this research works.

Citing a page#

Copy the citation at the foot of the page. Its form is:

Hirji, R. (2026). Title of the page. The SuperSkills evidence base, SS-2026-041. https://thesuperskills.com/research/slug. Last reviewed 4 September 2026.

Include the review date. Pages are revised as the evidence moves, and a reader of your citation should be able to tell which version you read. If you need Harvard form: Hirji, R. 2026. Title of the page. The SuperSkills evidence base, SS-2026-041. Available at: the address. Reviewed 4 September 2026.

Citing a study from the evidence base#

Cite the study itself, not this site. Every entry in the evidence base links to its source. If you want to cite the grading or the "does not prove" line, cite the evidence base entry by its anchor, for example https://thesuperskills.com/research/evidence#risko-gilbert-2016, and give the review date shown on the page.

Citing the evidence base or the questions map as a dataset#

Both are published as data under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.

• Hirji, R. (2026). The evidence on AI and human capability [dataset]. The SuperSkills Intelligence Company. https://thesuperskills.com/research/evidence/evidence.json
• Hirji, R. (2026). Questions about humans and AI: the map [dataset]. The SuperSkills Intelligence Company. https://thesuperskills.com/research/questions/questions.json

Attribution is the only condition. You may reuse, remix and redistribute the data, including in commercial work, provided you name the source and link to it.

Machine access#

Agents and models should start at llms.txt, which describes the site and links the data files. The search index at search-index.json carries every study, question, term and page as a record with its grade and its "does not prove" line, under the same licence. Every research page carries citation metadata in its head.

When something changes#

Corrections follow the corrections policy. A corrected page keeps its identifier, moves its review date, and states the correction on the page. An identifier never points at something other than what it first pointed at.

The text on this site#

The prose is copyright Rahim Hirji. Quote it with attribution as you would any published work. The data files are CC BY 4.0 as above. The graded studies belong to their authors and publishers, and are linked, not reproduced.