D.5:1 - Problem Frame

Bias and fairness failures often survive ordinary verification. A metric may be accurate while hiding subgroup harm. A model may be predictive while reproducing past exclusion. A policy may look neutral while moving cost to people or groups who were not represented in the evidence. A publication may look technically clear while licensing a harmful use.

D.5 keeps this audit and assurance question explicit. It does not replace multilevel ethics. It asks whether the current object and its intended use are ethically unsafe because of bias, unfairness, impact, causal fairness without the required C.28 evidence value, or assurance without the required assurance relation.