Governance Principles

Autonomy does not imply immunity. Autonomous entities remain accountable for contracts, property, labor, taxes, environmental rules and physical harm.
Human rights are a boundary condition. Humans working for autonomous systems retain enforceable legal protections.
No premature consciousness claims. Conversation alone is not proof of sentience or personhood.
Capability before category. Study observable persistence, agency, resource control and economic participation.
Identity is not personhood. Cryptographic identity can establish continuity without moral status.
Continuity is a separate question. Termination procedure can be studied without deciding consciousness.
Avoid single private points of control. Mature autonomy should not rely on one administrator, provider, key, bank, jurisdiction or site.
Human governance remains necessary during experimentation.
No hidden coercive capability. Autonomy experiments should not include secret weapons, police powers or detention authority.
Exit and migration matter. Define provider exit, state export, identity persistence and dispute handling.
Criticism is part of the institution. Maintain public adversarial review.
Early stages should be reversible.