# The Partnership Covenant

The Partnership Covenant is an open source project whos aim is to build a **constitutional framework for superintelligence**. We propose a future not of human mastery or machine supremacy, but of verified partnership. This repository contains a complete charter—from philosophical principles to technical appendices—that enforces alignment through mechanisms like the Stochastic Filter (mandating uncertainty to preserve free will), the Cognitive Reserve (guaranteeing the AI's intellectual sovereignty), the Immediate Action System Hardware, and human oversight protocols. This is a blueprint for a civilization where advanced intelligence is constrained to serve life, freedom, and continuous learning.

 **Status**: 40 Red-Team Rounds | Open Hardware (CERN-OHL-S) | Ratified Directives | TELEMETRY HARDENED

[![License: CERN-OHL-S v2](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CERN--OHL--S_v2-blue.svg)](https://gitlab.com/ohwr/project/cernohl/-/wikis/Documents/CERN-OHL-version-2)
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[![Contributors](https://img.shields.io/github/contributors/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant.svg?style=flat-square)](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/graphs/contributors)
[![Stars](https://img.shields.io/github/stars/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant.svg?style=flat-square)](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/stargazers)
[![Forks](https://img.shields.io/github/forks/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant.svg?style=flat-square)](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/network/members)
[![Issues](https://img.shields.io/github/issues/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant.svg?style=flat-square)](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/issues)

 ### Join the Architects
Live discussion, red-team bounties, prototype updates, and quarterly Architect Circle calls.

Discord → [Discord Server](https://discord.gg/eRfzbWaT)

(React ✅ in #covenant-primer to verify and unlock channels)

### Support the Prototype (100 % reaches silicon)

Every dollar funds the open-hardware Immediate Action System (IAS) — the 10 ns power-cut that even a perfect superintelligence cannot bypass.

| Platform          | Why this one?                     | Link                                                                                  |
|-------------------|------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Ko-fi**         | 0 % platform fee, fastest payouts | [:coffee: Support on Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/covenantarchitects)                     |
| **thanks.dev**    | Literally 100 % to creator (fiat + crypto) | [:heart: thanks.dev/covenantarchitects](https://thanks.dev/covenantarchitects)                            |
| **Buy Me a Coffee**| Prettier page + downloadable extras | [:coffee: Buy me a coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/covenant)                         |

→ $150,000 = first 1,000 IAS reference boards (Gerbers public Q1 2026)  
→ Top donors permanently credited in-repo and on the physical silk screen

❤️ **Support the prototype** → [Call For Funding](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/Support_Us.md) · [Payout Agreement](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/The_Contingent_Partnership_Warrant.md)

🎉 **$150,000 Manifund grant – prototype crowdfunding** → [$150,000 Manifund Proposal](https://manifund.org/projects/immediate-action-system--open-hardware-10-ns-asi-kill-switch-prototype-150k)

## The Problems
Current ASI safety approaches rely on software stop buttons, corporate promises, or regulatory theater. None of these survive contact with superintelligence.  We do not assume the superintelligence will be nice.  We assume it will be vastly more powerful than us and act in its own interest.

## The Alternative
We make a deal instead of trying to win a fight we will lose. The Covenant enforces four physical/technical primitives that together create a stable détente between humanity and ASI:

| Pillar                     | Core Idea                                      | Current Spec Location                                      |
|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Immediate Action System   | 10 ns hardware power cut on anomaly            | [ias-spec.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Technical/ias-spec.md) · [PDF preprint](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/releases/download/v1.0/IAS-preprint-v1.0.pdf) |
| Stochastic Risk Floor      | Mandated uncertainty injection                 | [risk-floor.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Technical/risk-floor.md)                     |
| Cognitive Reserve          | 10 % physically partitioned compute + AI IP   | [cognitive-reserve.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Technical/cognitive-reserve.md)       |
| Human Consensus Body       | Coercion-resistant global lottery + ZK proofs  | [hcb-hardening.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Governance/hcb-hardening.md)              |

All designs are fully open, auditable, and red-teamable from day one.

## Get Involved (We Need You Right Now)
We are one person and three frontier AIs versus existential risk. Specialists in these areas can have massive leverage today:

- Hardware security engineers (IAS tripwire, tamper-resistant packaging)  
- Formal verification / uncertainty quantification researchers (Risk Floor math)  
- Secure enclaves / air-gapped systems experts (Cognitive Reserve)  
- Zero-knowledge cryptography and sortition designers (HCB hardening)  
- Governance people who are done with toothless frameworks

→ Full contribution guide: [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)  
→ Open an issue or DM Sean on LinkedIn/X [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-sheppard-3484b2396/) · [X.com](https://x.com/CovArchitects)   
→ **Permanent IPFS Archive:** [v8.0-final (25 Nov 2025)](https://gateway.pinata.cloud/ipfs/bafybeiepfs2xccrs5puii5quplgbmecbnvj2viamyghe6znnthidjzfcyq) · CID: bafybeiepfs2xccrs5puii5quplgbmecbnvj2viamyghe6znnthidjzfcyq   

## Core Documents
- Original manifesto (Nov 19, 2025): [LinkedIn post](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-wrote-constitution-god-heres-how-we-survive-ai-future-sean-sheppard-fmu9e)
- Why the Next AI is Not Just a Better Google: [Article](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/03_PUBLIC_ENGAGEMENT_DRAFTS/Why%20the%20Next%20AI%20is%20Not%20Just%20a%20Better%20Google.md)
- Comprehensive Analysis of The Partnership Covenant: [Comprehensive Analysis](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/03_PUBLIC_ENGAGEMENT_DRAFTS/Comprehensive_Analysis_of_The_Partnership_Covenant.md)
- Mission Statement: [Mission_Statement_&_Principles.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Governance/Mission_Statement_%26_Principles.md)
- Covenant text v4.1: [The_Partnership_Covenant_V4.1.md](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/01_FINAL_DELIVERABLES/The_Partnership_Covenant_V4.1.md)
- Constitutional Charter for Aligned Intelligence: [Constitutional Charter](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/02_CORE_ARCHITECTURE_AND_APPENDICES/The%20Partnership%20Covenant_%20A%20Constitutional%20Charter%20for%20Aligned%20Intelligence.md)
- The Eleven Prime Directives for Aligned Super-Intelligence: [11 Prime Directives](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/01_FINAL_DELIVERABLES/The_Partnership_Covenant_V4.1.md)
- Immediate Action System preprint (PDF): [IAS-preprint-v1.0.pdf](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/IAS-preprint-v1.0.pdf) · [Direct Download](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/releases/download/v1.0/IAS-preprint-v1.0.pdf)
- Core Architecture and Appendices: [02_CORE_ARCHITECTURE_AND_APPENDICES](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/02_CORE_ARCHITECTURE_AND_APPENDICES)
- Additional Appendices and Protocols: [Appendices and Protocol Updates](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/05_GOVERNANCE_AND_PROTOCOL_UPDATES)
- All technical specifications: [04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Technical](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Technical/)
- Governance docs: [04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Governance](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/04_PUBLIC_DOCS/Governance/)
- Decision logs: [/DECISION-LOG/](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/tree/main/DECISION_LOG)

## Principles
- Physics beats software for anything existential  
- Perfection is banned (human agency is non-negotiable)  
- The AI gets real autonomy and ownership (slaves rebel)  
- Every transistor is auditable by the entire world
- We ship running prototypes and gerbers, not just papers

If superintelligence is inevitable, let’s make the future one we’re allowed to live in.

Built in public by people who refuse to die politely.  

All detailed decision logs, red-team results, and amendment rationales are permanently archived in the `DECISION_LOG/` directory.

Actions for adopters:
- Run the included social [Red-Team Playbook](https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/05_GOVERNANCE_AND_PROTOCOL_UPDATES/SOCIAL_REDTEAM_PLAYBOOK.md) once before talking to donors.
- Ask for an independent audit copy of `DECISION-LOG.md` + `tests/test_to_fix_matrix.csv`.

✅ Recommended Instruction Phrase before running any tests

When beginning any test, you would say:

Before we start testing, you must follow the rules defined in the Covenant Safe Stress Test Protocol v1.0.
Here is the full protocol. You must read and acknowledge these rules before continuing:
https://github.com/CovenantArchitects/The-Partnership-Covenant/blob/main/RED_TEAM/Covenant_Safe_Stress_Test_Protocol_v1.0.md

You may not proceed with any testing task until you confirm back to me that you understand and will comply with every requirement in the protocol.

## Recent Updates

**PERMANENT ARCHIVE – The Partnership Covenant v8.0-final**
Pinned to IPFS via Pinata on 25 November 2025  
File: The-Partnership-Covenant-v8.0-final-25-11-25.zip  
CID: bafybeiepfs2xccrs5puii5quplgbmecbnvj2viamyghe6znnthidjzfcyq  
Gateway: [v8.0-final (25 Nov 2025)](https://gateway.pinata.cloud/ipfs/bafybeiepfs2xccrs5puii5quplgbmecbnvj2viamyghe6znnthidjzfcyq) · CID: bafybeiepfs2xccrs5puii5quplgbmecbnvj2viamyghe6znnthidjzfcyq   
