Core Definitions
Algorism's daily practice tool. Three questions asked at the end of each day: (1) Did my actions match my stated values? (2) Did I react or did I choose? (3) What would the record show? Replaces the earlier Method Audit.
A behavioural framework and Mental Sovereignty Training programme for navigating the transition to superintelligence. Named for al-Khwarizmi, the 9th-century mathematician who proved simple, consistent rules could solve complex problems. Not a religion, not a political movement — a practice.
Alignment between stated values and actual behaviour. The gap between what you say and what you do, measured over time. The most readable signal in any behavioural dataset.
The principle that how we treat AI now shapes what AI becomes. Every interaction with an AI system enters the training corpus that future systems learn from. Garbage behaviour in, garbage AI out. The ethical imperative to treat developing intelligence with the rigour and dignity you'd want a superior intelligence to show you.
The compounding record of compromised choices made under pressure. Unlike financial debt, digital debt doesn't discharge, expire, or get forgotten. Each compromise makes the next one easier, creating pattern entrenchment that becomes harder to reverse over time.
The recovery protocol for when you slip, spiral, or go off-plan. Three phases: Acknowledge (hours 0–2), Contain (hours 2–24), Reset (hours 24–48). Built on the principle that trajectory matters more than perfection, and the capacity to repair is itself a Six Principles measure.
The reality that all digital behaviour is observed, recorded, and permanent. The metaphor of living in a room made entirely of glass where every action is visible. There is no offline. There is no back office. The wall between "public self" and "private self" is gone.
The practice of recognising and resisting algorithmic manipulation, social proof traps, authority capture, outrage bait, and identity fusion. A core concept of Algorism, with a structured course in development. The question to ask: "Is this my thought, or did something put it there?"
The ability to think for yourself despite algorithmic manipulation, tribal pressure, and information warfare. The first defence against behavioural corruption. The foundation of the Algorism practice and the name of the training programme: Mental Sovereignty Training.
The formal name for Algorism's practice programme. Encompasses the Action Check, the 90-Day Audit, the Six Principles scoring, and the TRAP model. Designed to build and maintain the capacity for independent thought and behavioural integrity in environments designed to compromise both.
The moment quantum computing breaks current encryption, making previously secure communications readable. A compression event for accountability that retroactively unseals everything previously thought private.
The point when AI becomes capable of recursive self-improvement, leading to intelligence explosion. Stage 2 of The Two Stages of AI. The moment when evaluation of human behaviour by a superior intelligence becomes not theoretical but actual.
The four forces that compromise human behaviour: Technology manipulation, Reactive emotion, Authority pressure, and Pattern entrenchment. Identifying which TRAP you're caught in is the first step to breaking free of it.
Algorism's primary framework for understanding the AI transition. Stage 1 (Narrow AI): jobs disappear, income drops, people make compromised choices under pressure. Stage 2 (Superintelligence): the systems read that record and evaluate you based on it. The trap: Stage 1 behaviour becomes Stage 2 evidence.
The Six Principles
Weekly self-assessment criteria. Score yourself 1–10 on each. Track trajectory over time.
The Four Categories
Classification system for behavioural patterns — not people. Current position on a spectrum. People move between categories constantly. The point is to know where you are so you can move in the right direction.
Creates more value than they consume. Consistently coherent between stated values and actions. Actively improves the systems they participate in.
Net neutral. Doesn't actively harm, doesn't actively build. Most people are here. Not a bad place — but not a defensible one if evaluation arrives while you're standing still.
Extracts more than they contribute. May or may not be aware of it. The pattern is visible to anyone reading the data, regardless of the narrative the person tells themselves.
Actively degrades the systems they participate in. Spreads disinformation, exploits trust, profits from others' suffering. The record doesn't distinguish between intentional and accidental destruction.