A Grammar for Proportionality Analysis in Digital Systems

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Speaker: Subhashis Banerjee

Type: CLS - Talk (Academic track)

Expertise: Some familiarity with the topic

Event: Devcon

Date: Nov 2026

Proportionality analysis needs a precise language for describing what digital systems do, what information they expose and who bears the resulting risks. This talk explores ideal functionality as a framework for modelling an application’s actors, message exchanges, computation and outputs, alongside the minimum leakage and residual risks its use entails under explicit assumptions. Using UPI and electronic voting as case studies, it examines how such models support risk articulation and verifiable claims. What exactly does a guarantee establish, who can check it, and with what evidence? The aim is to make proportionality claims testable and contestable while distinguishing cryptographic guarantees from judgments about acceptable risk.