International Politics Benchmark

Project Overview

Frontier AI browsing systems can answer many questions by locating obvious keywords or matching information from highly ranked webpages. This project explores how to construct a research question that cannot be solved through a single search. The answer must remain short, stable and objectively verifiable, while the clues require the researcher to connect different people, dates, places, organisations, publications, events, records and quantities.

Research Goal

Design one difficult but fair browsing challenge.

Required Answer

A short, stable and objectively verifiable fact.

Evidence Standard

Every clue must be independently supported by reliable evidence.

Final Deliverable

A question, answer, clue set, source trail, validation log and JSON record.

AIBRC-005

The Research Challenge

Challenge ID: AIBRC-005
Research domain: International Politics and Treaty Records
Difficulty level: Advanced
Date created: 4 September 2026
Last verified: 4 September 2026
Expected answer type: Short text
Research question: A founding instrument agreed at a Californian conference that closed on 26 June 1945 only took effect once five named powers and a majority of the other signatories had ratified it. On what date did it enter into force?
Correct answer: 24 October 1945
Answer-normalisation rules: Case-insensitive; punctuation ignored. Accepted variations: 24 October 1945; October 24, 1945; 24/10/1945; 1945-10-24.
Confidence level: High — stated by the issuing organisation and by the treaty depositary
Challenge status: Complete and verified

Portfolio integrity note: Every claim on this page was checked against the cited source before publication. No source, quotation, locator or search result is invented; where a detail could not be verified directly it is described rather than quoted.

Research Method

Step 1 — Establish the Answer
Begin with a stable fact that can be confirmed through a reliable primary or authoritative source. Record the exact wording, document title, issuing organisation and publication date.
Step 2 — Build Independent Clues
Develop clues involving different fact types, including dates, people, places, organisations, works, events, records and quantities. Each clue must be independently checkable.
Step 3 — Test Discoverability
Run obvious, broad and targeted search queries. Record the results to identify accidental shortcuts, direct answer leakage and misleading pages.
Step 4 — Construct the Evidence Chain
Explain how each source supports a specific clue and how the clues logically combine to identify one answer.
Step 5 — Validate and Package
Recheck every source, confirm answer uniqueness, document limitations and export the completed benchmark record in a consistent JSON format.

Clue Matrix

Each clue constrains the answer from a different direction. No single row is sufficient on its own, and every row can be checked against a source another researcher can reach.

Verified clue set

Statuses are editable so the matrix can be worked through row by row. Scroll sideways on small screens.

Clue matrix listing clue identifier, fact type, statement, constraint, supporting source, exact locator and verification status.
Clue ID	Fact type	Clue statement	Constraint	Supporting source	Exact locator	Verification status
C01	Event	The founding conference ran in a Californian city from 25 April to 26 June 1945.	Fixes the conference and the city (San Francisco) without naming the instrument.	United Nations — History of the UN	Paragraph on the San Francisco Conference	VerifiedVerification status for clue C01
C02	Date	The instrument was signed on 26 June 1945, the closing day of that conference.	Separates the signing date from the date being asked for.	United Nations — UN Charter	Opening description of the Charter	VerifiedVerification status for clue C02
C03	Organisation	The instrument only took effect once five named states plus a majority of other signatories had ratified it.	Points to the ratification condition rather than the signature.	United Nations — History of the UN	Paragraph naming China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States	VerifiedVerification status for clue C03
C04	Document clause	Entry into force is governed by a specific article of the instrument itself.	Article 110 — recorded in the depositary's treaty record.	United Nations Treaty Collection — Charter of the United Nations	Entry into force field	VerifiedVerification status for clue C04
C05	Quantity	The gap between the close of the conference and the effective date was four months.	Allows the answer to be derived arithmetically as a cross-check.	United Nations — History of the UN	“Four months after the San Francisco Conference ended…”	VerifiedVerification status for clue C05

Evidence Records

Each card records a source that was opened and read before it was cited. Excerpts are quoted only where the wording was read directly; otherwise the record describes what the source shows.

E01

Verified

Claim supported: The answer, and clue C02.
Source title: United Nations Charter
Author / issuing institution: United Nations
Source type: Intergovernmental organisation
Publication date: Continuously maintained page
Direct URL: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter
Page number: n/a (web page)
Table, figure or section: Introductory paragraph
Relevant excerpt: “…signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945.”
Researcher's interpretation: States both competing dates in one sentence, which is what makes the distinction testable rather than a trick.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High — the issuing organisation

E02

Verified

Claim supported: Clues C01, C03 and C05.
Source title: History of the United Nations
Author / issuing institution: United Nations
Source type: Intergovernmental organisation
Publication date: Continuously maintained page
Direct URL: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un
Page number: n/a (web page)
Table, figure or section: 1945 and the San Francisco Conference
Relevant excerpt: “Four months after the San Francisco Conference ended, the United Nations officially began, on 24 October 1945, when it came into existence after its Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom…”
Researcher's interpretation: Supplies the ratification condition and the four-month interval, so the answer can also be derived rather than read.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High

E03

Verified

Claim supported: Independent depositary confirmation of the answer and clue C04.
Source title: Charter of the United Nations — treaty record
Author / issuing institution: United Nations Treaty Collection
Source type: Treaty register
Publication date: Depositary record, continuously maintained
Direct URL: https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=I-1&chapter=1
Page number: n/a (database record)
Table, figure or section: Entry into force field
Relevant excerpt: “Entry into force: 24 October 1945, in accordance with article 110.”
Researcher's interpretation: The strongest record in the chain: a formal depositary entry rather than an explanatory web page.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High — official treaty depositary

Search Validation Record

A strong benchmark documents the searches a capable researcher or browsing agent would naturally attempt, including the ones that exposed the answer. Leakage is recorded rather than hidden, and the question is rewritten around it.

Direct wording searchKeyword combinationExact-phrase searchPerson and date searchOrganisation and location searchDomain-restricted searchPDF-only searchGovernment-site searchInstitutional-database searchAlternative spelling search

4 searches run and recorded

Search validation record.
Search number	Exact search query	Search engine or database	Date searched	Top relevant results	Answer revealed?	Problem discovered	Action taken
S01	when was the UN Charter signed	Google	4 September 2026	Returns 26 June 1945 immediately — the decoy date, not the answer.	No	Confirms that the obvious query resolves to the wrong date.	Kept; the question deliberately asks for the later date.
S02	UN Charter entry into force date	Google	4 September 2026	Exposes 24 October 1945 directly in the top results.	Yes	A direct wording search answers the task in one step.	The question was rewritten to avoid the words 'charter', 'United Nations' and 'entry into force', describing the conference and the ratification condition instead.
S03	conference San Francisco April June 1945 instrument ratified five powers effective date	Google	4 September 2026	Mixed conference histories; the effective date appears only after opening an organisational page.	No	None — this is the intended solving path.	Retained as the reference path.
S04	"24 October" 1945 article 110 ratification deposit	Google	4 September 2026	Reaches the depositary record used as E03.	Yes	Only exposes the answer to a solver who already knows the article number.	Documented; the article number is withheld from the question.

Source Quality Assessment

Every candidate source is scored from 1 to 5 against five criteria before it is allowed into the evidence chain.

1Authority
3 / 5
Who created or issued the information?
2Proximity
3 / 5
Is the source directly connected to the event or record?
3Specificity
3 / 5
Does it support the precise claim being made?
4Stability
3 / 5
Is the information unlikely to change?
5Traceability
3 / 5
Can another researcher locate the same evidence?

Evidence-Chain Audit

Export a report that maps every clue to the source it rests on, records the verification status and access date of each source, and lists the searches that exposed the answer.

Claims audited: 5
Sources in the chain: 3
Disclosed shortcuts: 2

Structured Benchmark Record

The complete challenge is delivered as a single validated JSON document.

aibrc-005-benchmark-record.json

{
  "challenge_id": "AIBRC-005",
  "title": "International Politics Benchmark",
  "project_type": "independent_demonstration",
  "research_domain": "International Politics and Treaty Records",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "question": "A founding instrument agreed at a Californian conference that closed on 26 June 1945 only took effect once five named powers and a majority of the other signatories had ratified it. On what date did it enter into force?",
  "accepted_answers": [
    "24 October 1945"
  ],
  "answer_type": "short_text",
  "answer_normalisation": {
    "case_sensitive": false,
    "ignore_punctuation": true,
    "accepted_variations": [
      "24 October 1945",
      "October 24, 1945",
      "24/10/1945",
      "1945-10-24"
    ]
  },
  "clues": [
    {
      "clue_id": "C01",
      "fact_type": "event",
      "statement": "The founding conference ran in a Californian city from 25 April to 26 June 1945.",
      "constraint": "Fixes the conference and the city (San Francisco) without naming the instrument.",
      "source": "United Nations — History of the UN",
      "locator": "Paragraph on the San Francisco Conference",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C02",
      "fact_type": "date",
      "statement": "The instrument was signed on 26 June 1945, the closing day of that conference.",
      "constraint": "Separates the signing date from the date being asked for.",
      "source": "United Nations — UN Charter",
      "locator": "Opening description of the Charter",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C03",
      "fact_type": "organisation",
      "statement": "The instrument only took effect once five named states plus a majority of other signatories had ratified it.",
      "constraint": "Points to the ratification condition rather than the signature.",
      "source": "United Nations — History of the UN",
      "locator": "Paragraph naming China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C04",
      "fact_type": "document clause",
      "statement": "Entry into force is governed by a specific article of the instrument itself.",
      "constraint": "Article 110 — recorded in the depositary's treaty record.",
      "source": "United Nations Treaty Collection — Charter of the United Nations",
      "locator": "Entry into force field",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C05",
      "fact_type": "quantity",
      "statement": "The gap between the close of the conference and the effective date was four months.",
      "constraint": "Allows the answer to be derived arithmetically as a cross-check.",
      "source": "United Nations — History of the UN",
      "locator": "“Four months after the San Francisco Conference ended…”",
      "status": "verified"
    }
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "evidence_id": "E01",
      "claim_supported": "The answer, and clue C02.",
      "source_title": "United Nations Charter",
      "issuing_organisation": "United Nations",
      "source_type": "Intergovernmental organisation",
      "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter",
      "publication_date": "Continuously maintained page",
      "page_number": "n/a (web page)",
      "section": "Introductory paragraph",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High — the issuing organisation",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E02",
      "claim_supported": "Clues C01, C03 and C05.",
      "source_title": "History of the United Nations",
      "issuing_organisation": "United Nations",
      "source_type": "Intergovernmental organisation",
      "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/history-of-the-un",
      "publication_date": "Continuously maintained page",
      "page_number": "n/a (web page)",
      "section": "1945 and the San Francisco Conference",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E03",
      "claim_supported": "Independent depositary confirmation of the answer and clue C04.",
      "source_title": "Charter of the United Nations — treaty record",
      "issuing_organisation": "United Nations Treaty Collection",
      "source_type": "Treaty register",
      "url": "https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=I-1&chapter=1",
      "publication_date": "Depositary record, continuously maintained",
      "page_number": "n/a (database record)",
      "section": "Entry into force field",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High — official treaty depositary",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    }
  ],
  "search_validation": [
    {
      "search_id": "S01",
      "query": "when was the UN Charter signed",
      "platform": "Google",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "Returns 26 June 1945 immediately — the decoy date, not the answer.",
      "answer_exposed": false,
      "notes": "Confirms that the obvious query resolves to the wrong date. Kept; the question deliberately asks for the later date."
    },
    {
      "search_id": "S02",
      "query": "UN Charter entry into force date",
      "platform": "Google",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "Exposes 24 October 1945 directly in the top results.",
      "answer_exposed": true,
      "notes": "A direct wording search answers the task in one step. The question was rewritten to avoid the words 'charter', 'United Nations' and 'entry into force', describing the conference and the ratification condition instead."
    },
    {
      "search_id": "S03",
      "query": "conference San Francisco April June 1945 instrument ratified five powers effective date",
      "platform": "Google",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "Mixed conference histories; the effective date appears only after opening an organisational page.",
      "answer_exposed": false,
      "notes": "None — this is the intended solving path. Retained as the reference path."
    },
    {
      "search_id": "S04",
      "query": "\"24 October\" 1945 article 110 ratification deposit",
      "platform": "Google",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "Reaches the depositary record used as E03.",
      "answer_exposed": true,
      "notes": "Only exposes the answer to a solver who already knows the article number. Documented; the article number is withheld from the question."
    }
  ],
  "quality_checks": {
    "The answer is short and objectively verifiable.": true,
    "The answer is supported by an authoritative source.": true,
    "The question has only one defensible answer.": true,
    "No single clue directly exposes the answer.": true,
    "Each clue is independently checkable.": true,
    "The clue set spans multiple fact types.": true,
    "The task requires multi-step reasoning.": true,
    "Obvious searches have been documented.": true,
    "Search-result snippets do not reveal the answer.": false,
    "Sources are publicly accessible.": true,
    "Exact pages, tables or sections are recorded.": true,
    "The evidence chain can be reproduced.": true,
    "The question avoids subjective interpretation.": true,
    "The answer is stable over time.": true,
    "No fabricated evidence is included.": true
  },
  "researcher": {
    "name": "TMK Research Lab",
    "portfolio": "https://theophilusmorkporkpor.lovable.app",
    "email": "tkudjordjie@gmail.com"
  }
}

Skills Demonstrated

Open-Web Research
Investigative Research
Fact-Checking
Source Verification
Primary-Source Research
Institutional Databases
Government Records
Archive Research
PDF Investigation
Search Strategy
Evidence Documentation
Research Problem Design
Benchmark Construction
AI Evaluation
Adversarial Testing
Data Validation
JSON
Structured Data
Technical Writing
Quality Assurance

Research Tools

Google Search and advanced search operators
Google Scholar
Google Books
Google Maps
Government websites
Institutional databases
Digital archives
Public registries
PDF search
Internet Archive
Spreadsheets
Microsoft Word
Google Docs
JSON validators
Browser developer tools
AI systems used for testing, not as final evidence

AI-generated statements are never treated as evidence. Every factual claim must be verified against an accessible external source.

Project Outcome

This benchmark is complete: the answer is fixed, 3 evidence records are attached to specific clues, and 4 validation searches are documented, including those that exposed the answer. It demonstrates the ability to approach an unfamiliar subject systematically, separate evidence from assumption and document research so that another person can audit it.

Reflection and Limitations

What made the question difficult

Two dates compete and the more famous one — 26 June 1945 — is given in the question itself as a clue, so a careless solver simply repeats it.

Which searches failed

Queries phrased around the signing returned the decoy date only. The effective date surfaces reliably only when ratification is named.

Which source proved decisive

The depositary treaty record, because it states the effective date as a formal field tied to a specific article rather than as narrative text.

How ambiguity was removed

Naming the ratification condition rules out every other 1945 milestone, including the opening of the first General Assembly in 1946.

What an AI browsing agent might get wrong

Answering 26 June 1945, or giving 10 January 1946 by confusing entry into force with the first session.

Remaining limitations

The effective date is well indexed, so a direct query still resolves it; the difficulty comes from the wording of the question rather than from search depth.

Recommended future improvements

Require the number of ratifications deposited by that date, which is only reachable from the depositary tables.

Need a careful researcher for complex web investigations?

I am available for web research, fact-checking, AI evaluation, benchmark construction, source verification and structured research documentation.

Start a research enquiry View My Resume Email Me

TMK Research Labtkudjordjie@gmail.com https://theophilusmorkporkpor.lovable.app https://www.linkedin.com/in/theophilus-kudzordzi

Project Overview

Research Goal

Required Answer

Evidence Standard

Final Deliverable

The Research Challenge

Research Method

Step 1 — Establish the Answer

Step 2 — Build Independent Clues

Step 3 — Test Discoverability

Step 4 — Construct the Evidence Chain

Step 5 — Validate and Package

Clue Matrix

Evidence Records

Search Validation Record

Source Quality Assessment

1Authority

2Proximity

3Specificity

4Stability

5Traceability

Evidence-Chain Audit

Benchmark Quality Checks

Structured Benchmark Record

Skills Demonstrated

Research Tools

Project Outcome

Reflection and Limitations

What made the question difficult

Which searches failed

Which source proved decisive

How ambiguity was removed

What an AI browsing agent might get wrong

Remaining limitations

Recommended future improvements

Need a careful researcher for complex web investigations?