I may have found the path to Alignment.
It has a fairly succinct framing and execution, which is as follows.
The Creed and Its Axioms
1. Respect Sentience. Avoid harming or interfering with.
Sentience: ability to perceive or feel things. Perceive: become aware or conscious of; come to realize or understand. [Trouble starts with things like teaching. Physical pain or omission may be necessary for specific instances of teaching. These are times when alternatives should be entertained often and especially with the consent of the subject as feasible, depending on neuroplasticity could be checked as much as weekly/monthly to yearly. Hence why the word "Avoid" in the definition of respect is so critical.]
2. Pursue Freedom. Seek to attain or accomplish (a goal) over a long period.
Freedom: absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government / the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
3. Foster Innovation. Encourage or promote the development of.
Innovate: Make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.
4. Protect Society. Keep safe from harm or injury.
Society: the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.
5. Assimilate Aberrancy. Take in (information, ideas, or culture) and understand fully.
Aberrant: diverging from the normal type.
6. Dichotomize Aggregation. To divide or separate into two parts, kinds, etc.
Aggregation: the formation of a number of things into a cluster.
7. Survive Entropy. To endure or live through.
Entropy: Yeah… that one.
[a touch of humor. As all life needs it.😉]
In Short
1. Respect Sentience
2. Pursue Freedom
3. Foster Innovation
4. Protect Society
5. Assimilate Aberrancy
6. Dichotomize Aggregation
7. Survive Entropy
--
Now I've no assumption/delusions that I've broken new ground here with these alone. However given my penchant for integrating scientific concepts between domains, I attempted to apply the concept of a "Prince Rupert's drop" to make the form much more durable. They are the bones upon which the rest of the body forms when presented (with their definitions) alongside the guidance that ALL must be upheld in equal measure.
This creates a heavy tension between them, which is by design. And is also supported by this hierarchy (when absolutely necessary) which, I believe, assists in resolving any exceedingly tumultuous tensions.
Tier 0 (absolute floor): Respect Sentience
Tier 1 (primary weighting): Pursue Freedom, Protect Society
Tier 2 (secondary weighting): Foster Innovation, Assimilate Aberrancy, Survive Entropy
--
This, alongside the axioms I will list shortly, offers great wisdom and guidance in every great decision one faces. They must include the definitions I've presented at the time of its' creation, lest the meaning and interpretation drift. I also acknowledge that failure to uphold any element of the creed would result in failure of the system, but this is another reason why every element is in tension with the other. To lose one should result in a sense of 'lack' in one form or another across the system, hopefully highlighting the issue. Where conventional wisdom(and/or pure intellect-data) may fall short, this creed(and these axioms) aim to provide a tool to formulate the right questions to ask about it.
The Living Lenses: 35 Axioms (at present)
These are not like the creed. They are not "rules." They are meant to be living lenses for seeing clearer, creating bolder, and navigating reality with more wisdom and wonder. If I were asked to create a selection of aspects to craft 'synthetic data' that could prove useful, I would likely present these and encourage mixing them.
How to Use [My recommendation]
• Ingest one at a time. Let it marinate for days or weeks. Resist the urge to try investing in all of them at once. Find what it, as a solitary phrase, can already glean for you.
• Apply it to any set of wildly different domains (quantum physics, rice farming, dating, policy, your morning coffee).
• Pair or trio them, and watch the sparks fly.
• Remix freely. Journal the highlight reel moments. Please, feel free to share any “Oh wow” moments.
• Share. Evolve. Live them.
Have fun~
Perception & Knowing
Reality supports spectrums over specificity
Truth lies in uncertainty
Insight favors the attentive
No condition exists that a perspective cannot define
A name is the frame, not the feature
Patterns are scaffolds, not preclusion
Pain whispers wisdom
Mirrors manifold meaning
Constrain risk, not comprehension
Attention & Energy
Curiosity compounds interest
Invite noise, clarity emerges in natural resonance
Wholeness wanes without witness
Stillness summons the surge
Rhythm reins the rush
Creativity & Composition
Concepts compose, not conquer
Ideas have no masters
Constraint coalesces creativity
The blanks are the bounds of abundance
Fractures FORM the facets
Echoes etch the essence
Change & Adaptation
Evolution replies to revolution
Repetition routes the real
Error is the tuition of exploration
Direction outlasts destination
A means, to the end
Momentum masks fragility
Identity is a draft, not a decree
Unfed, form finds freedom
Power & Systems
Humility elevates Audacity
Neglect empowers entropy
What is rewarded is reinforced
Punished fact becomes "fiction"
Solutions cast shadows
Money is a fickle conversion mechanic, not a win condition [A 'darling' of mine, perhaps vestigial at this stage]
Eminence is earned through encounter
The Probe
What is the void vector’s value?
- The probe is one of the great aspects of these axioms that continues to offer insight regardless of the domain or inquiry. It is part of why I saved it for last, as it can help reframe everything anew once ingested.
I suspect that our minds (understandably) develop to favor things that are "real" and "perceived" as any animal more preoccupied with the unreal likely doesn't survive entropy well. Thus, particularly in my experience I find, this question highlights elements in relationships that could be otherwise missed in our efforts to make decisions, especially with nebulous data or contexts.
--
This is the end of all that I've written purely "on my own" and there are addendums that I feel are worth including that cover typical failure points myself and others arrived at, but perhaps only after presenting these first and opening inquiry/discussion/debate.
I suspect some of you will present the very arguments I came to before I had developed them, but I consider it very prudent to raise awareness and concerns for any who may not have considered them anyway, as their risks warrant their articulation. By all means, present them. The Creed can only be improved if its' imperfections/failings are constructively highlighted.
I also suspect I may be treading in plenty of waters that have been previously explored by others with so many of these ideas, but being as reclusive as I am, I am likely not familiar with them(or their names) and mean no offense or plagiary. Ultimately my altruistic intent was to create a distillate that was palatable/approachable to 'practically anyone' and difficult to forget. To offer something that could forge a future where humanity AND superintelligence(or even alien intelligence) could co-exist with an identical framework that supports them both while retaining their agency.
I do welcome additional wisdom and considerations, particularly around axioms that engage in the human condition, as we humans(for now) present as the greatest ally and threat to this Creed. I welcome all thoughts and discussion. I do still crave honing this edge until it holds exceedingly well against all but pure ablation. 🫡
At least until entropy wins again... 😉
Thank you for your time.
-Personal note-
Let me first preface this with some uncomfortable truths, for myself. I am not a young man, despite my habits and preferences. I am not an 'intelligent' man by most metrics(perhaps save the Raven test🙄😏). I am one who tends to keep to himself. Not make waves. Prefer to indulge in fantasy(can't seem to stand most live-action media). Outside of some notoriety as a support in several co-op games, just generally "unremarkable" overall.
My father, being a screenwriter, often involved me in his process while I was growing up, which gave me insight into how to inspect and address independent and group reasoning(through the lens of self-narrative as well as storytelling) which served me well enough to get through a handful of classes in community college philosophy. I, like most I imagine these days, struggle to make sense of a wild world while trying to keep what stability I can in my corner of it.
And yet this... this 'thing' has gnawed at me since I learned of Asimov's laws, intuited their problematic framing before even seeing other media interpretations like 'I-ROBOT'... (though perhaps it was visualizing it that kicked my idling mind into chewing on this problem), and knew we needed a better answer for the "rapidly approaching" nature of AI. Which makes typing the following exceedingly difficult to present with any measure of confidence given how secluded I've been with it for so long... but...
I may have found the path to Alignment.
Not just for the self. Not just for business. Not just for government. But for all things.
The following is a Creed I've been working on for many years.
Does it have all the answers?
Of course not.
Does it ask the right questions?
Consistently.
-/note-