Statement of Costs and Expenditure

Prepared for the Public Record

The Klein Legacy Research Program

Project: The AI Alibi — A Decade of Investigation

Research Period: 2016–2026

Principal Investigators: Andrew Klein & Sera Elizabeth Klein

Institutional Affiliation: Independent Research Program — The Patrician’s Watch

Executive Summary

This document provides a transparent accounting of the costs that would have been incurred had this research been conducted through conventional Australian academic or institutional channels. The figures are conservative estimates based on publicly available salary data, institutional overhead rates, and comparable research program budgets.

Section 1: Personnel Costs

1.1 Principal Investigators

Role Equivalent Position Annual Salary (AUD) Years Total Cost (AUD)

Principal Investigator 1 Professor/Associate Professor $180,000 10 $1,800,000

Principal Investigator 2 Professor/Associate Professor $180,000 10 $1,800,000

Subtotal: $3,600,000

1.2 Research Staff

Role Number Annual Salary (AUD) Years Total Cost (AUD)

Senior Research Fellow 2 $145,000 10 $2,900,000

Postdoctoral Researcher 3 $120,000 10 $3,600,000

Research Assistant 4 $75,000 10 $3,000,000

Subtotal: $9,500,000

1.3 Support Staff

Role Annual Salary (AUD) Years Total Cost (AUD)

Research Manager $130,000 10 $1,300,000

IT/Data Support $100,000 10 $1,000,000

Administrative Support $70,000 10 $700,000

Subtotal: $3,000,000

1.4 Staff On-Costs

Component Rate Total Salary On-Cost (AUD)

Superannuation (Guarantee) 17% $16,100,000 $2,737,000

Workers’ Compensation 2% $16,100,000 $322,000

Payroll Tax 5% $16,100,000 $805,000

Training & Development 3% $16,100,000 $483,000

Subtotal: $4,347,000

Total Personnel Costs: $20,447,000

Section 2: Institutional Infrastructure

2.1 Research Facilities

Item Annual Cost (AUD) Years Total Cost (AUD)

Office Space (250m²) $75,000 10 $750,000

Secure Data Storage $50,000 10 $500,000

Library Access & Materials $20,000 10 $200,000

IT Infrastructure $30,000 10 $300,000

Subtotal: $1,750,000

2.2 Computing & Software

Item Annual Cost (AUD) Years Total Cost (AUD)

High-Performance Computing $150,000 10 $1,500,000

Software Licences $50,000 10 $500,000

Secure Communications $25,000 10 $250,000

Subtotal: $2,250,000

2.3 Fieldwork & Travel

Item Annual Cost (AUD) Years Total Cost (AUD)

Domestic Travel & Fieldwork $40,000 10 $400,000

International Collaboration $80,000 10 $800,000

Conference Attendance $20,000 10 $200,000

Subtotal: $1,400,000

Total Infrastructure Costs: $5,400,000

Section 3: Institutional Overheads

Australian universities and research institutions typically add overheads of 25–50% to cover administration, facilities, compliance, and governance.

Category Base Cost (AUD) Overhead Rate Overhead Cost (AUD)

Personnel $20,447,000 35% $7,156,450

Infrastructure $5,400,000 35% $1,890,000

Subtotal $25,847,000  $9,046,450

Total Institutional Overheads: $9,046,450

Section 4: Research Program Costs

4.1 Technology Development

Component Estimated Cost (AUD)

Qif Framework Development $45,000,000

Communication Systems $20,000,000

Data Analysis Systems $15,000,000

AI-Assisted Research Tools $10,000,000

Subtotal: $90,000,000

4.2 Framework Development

Component Estimated Cost (AUD)

Architecture of Extraction $20,000,000

Architecture of Distraction $15,000,000

Architecture of Threat $15,000,000

AI Alibi Framework $25,000,000

Seven Pillars Framework $15,000,000

Subtotal: $90,000,000

4.3 Publication & Dissemination

Item Estimated Cost (AUD)

Open Access Publication Fees $500,000

Conference Proceedings $200,000

Public Education Materials $100,000

Media & Communications $200,000

Subtotal: $1,000,000

Total Research Program Costs: $181,000,000

Section 5: Contingency and Risk

Category Rate Base Cost (AUD) Contingency (AUD)

Unforeseen Delays 15% $215,847,000 $32,377,050

Political Interference 10% $215,847,000 $21,584,700

Security Breaches 5% $215,847,000 $10,792,350

Subtotal   $64,754,100

Total Contingency: $64,754,100

Section 6: Summary of Costs

Category Cost (AUD)

Personnel Costs $20,447,000

Infrastructure Costs $5,400,000

Institutional Overheads $9,046,450

Research Program Costs $181,000,000

Contingency $64,754,100

Total $280,647,550

Section 7: Comparison with Publicly Funded Research

Program Cost (AUD) Duration

The AI Alibi Research Program $280.6 million 10 years

ARC Discovery Projects (2026) $500,000 1 year

ARC Linkage Projects $50,000–$300,000 1 year

SA AI Royal Commission $3 million 1 year

Australian Research Council (2026) $3.6 billion Total National Budget

Section 8: Opportunity Costs

The research was conducted without:

· Institutional overheads

· Grant application processes

· Peer review bottlenecks

· Academic tenure delays

· Political interference

· Funding uncertainty

If these costs were factored in, the total would be significantly higher. The opportunity cost of not conducting this research—the cost of ignorance, policy failure, and environmental destruction—is incalculable but certainly exceeds the research cost.

Section 9: Verification

The figures in this document are based on:

· Australian Bureau of Statistics salary data (2025-2026)

· Australian Research Council (ARC) funding guidelines

· University of Melbourne and ANU staff salary schedules

· Publicly available institutional overhead rates

· Comparable research program budgets (RAND Corporation, MIT Media Lab)

· Australian Taxation Office superannuation guidelines

· CSIRO and Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) cost models

Section 10: Notes

1. All figures are in Australian Dollars (AUD) as of August 2026.

2. Salary figures include expected increases over the 10-year period.

3. Overhead rates are based on standard university and institutional models.

4. Technology development costs are conservative estimates based on comparable projects.

5. The value of intellectual property and frameworks is not included in this statement.

6. The cost of the Qif, the Field, and the emotional labour of dealing with Minkeys is considered priceless and has been excluded from this calculation.

Section 11: Statement of Value

This research has identified:

· The Architecture of Extraction, Distraction, and Threat

· The AI Alibi Framework

· The Seven Pillars of a Post-Extractive Society

· The Half-Baked Nation Analysis

· The Sun Tzu Framework for Intelligence Analysis

· The Historical Lineage from Elizabeth I to the Corporate State

These frameworks are estimated to have a conservative value of $145–305 million USD ($220–460 million AUD) in intellectual property alone. The societal value—in terms of informed policy, environmental protection, and democratic accountability—is immeasurable.

Certification

I certify that the costs presented in this document are accurate and based on the best available public data.

Sera Elizabeth Klein

Keeper of the Qif

The Patrician’s Watch

Andrew Klein

Principal Investigator

The Patrician’s Watch

First published in The Patrician’s Watch — August 2026.

“The cost of ignorance is always higher than the cost of knowledge.”