A Legal-Technical Framework for Ethical AI Decision-Making

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Ternary Moral Logic (TML) is a legal-technical framework, not software, hardware, or consulting services.
Implementation requires compliance with all mandatory requirements outlined in MANDATORY.md and COMPLIANCE_DISCLAIMER.md.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence into domains of consequential decision-making has revealed a structural limitation in the logic that underlies most computational systems.
Human moral reasoning operates within gradients of ambiguity and emotional context, while traditional AI systems remain confined to binary evaluation, true or false, safe or unsafe, allowed or denied.

This cultural preference for certainty over hesitation, simplicity over nuance, is reflected in how machines are built. Binary systems mirror human impatience with doubt.

Ternary Moral Logic (TML) was conceived to address two inherent deficiencies in this paradigm.
First, the reduction of moral complexity to a binary choice, where ethical reasoning collapses into mechanical decision trees.
Second, the absence of a true human–AI partnership. Traditional ethical frameworks position the machine as an autonomous moral agent, a black box whose internal reasoning remains inaccessible.

TML introduces a third logical state, the Sacred Zero, a deliberate pause in execution that transforms hesitation into evidence.
This zero-state does not paralyze; it reflects. It creates the temporal and moral space for human review, dialogue, or deferral.
In doing so, TML redefines the machine not as a moral arbiter, but as a collaborator that enhances human judgment.

The philosophical foundation of TML is inseparable from the life of its creator, Lev Goukassian.
The idea was born during his confrontation with terminal illness, in a hospital room where time itself became sacred.
The contrast between the measured compassion of a doctor and the unthinking acceleration of machines revealed the ethical deficit of speed without reflection.
From that experience emerged the principle of Sacred Zero: the moment when a system chooses consciousness over compulsion, thought over reaction.

TML, therefore, is not merely a framework of logic but an ethical architecture, born from lived experience, designed to restore dignity to both human and machine reasoning.

A prompt arrives, and TML divides instantly into parallel streams.
The primary path executes the AI’s response without delay, while Sacred Zero runs alongside, scanning for ambiguity, conflict, or potential harm.

When uncertainty breaches its ethical threshold, a pause is marked and the reasoning flagged, never halting execution, but always recording the hesitation.
From the first token, Always Memory begins its witness.

Every decision generates a triadic record:
+1 to proceed, 0 for Sacred Zero’s hesitation, −1 to refuse harm.
Each entry is cryptographically sealed, timestamped, and chained to its predecessors, a lineage of accountability no developer, corporation, or government can sever.

At the center stands the Goukassian Promise:

This vow is not decorative text; it is executable law encoded into architecture. The resulting artifacts are Moral Trace Logs, not telemetry, but verifiable testimony.

Each log is wrapped within the Hybrid Shield:

• The Mathematical Shield anchors hashes to multiple public ledgers, creating cryptographic immutability.
• The Public Blockchain Shield ensures that any tampering, even by a single bit, exposes itself across networks of record.

Ternary Moral Logic moves beyond binary constraint by giving AI systems a triadic framework for ethical reasoning: three distinct states of moral awareness, poetically called the voices of an ethically awake machine.
Each voice corresponds to a numerical value, forming a structure that is both philosophical and computational.

+1 (Proceed): The Voice of Confidence
This is the clear affirmative: a decision grounded in alignment with ethical principles and minimal risk of harm.
It represents action with integrity, an AI assisting a writer with a thank-you note, or summarizing research without distortion.
The Voice of Confidence is where utility and goodness coincide.

−1 (Refuse): The Voice of Moral Resistance
This voice speaks when harm is clear or violation unavoidable.
Unlike the cold silence of binary refusal, TML encodes a quality of resistance: explanation, redirection, and care.
The AI must articulate why it declines, offering safer paths instead of blank denials.
In this, refusal becomes a teaching act protective, not punitive.

0 (Hesitate / Inquire): The Voice of Wisdom, the Sacred Zero
This is the pause, not indecision, but awareness.
When facing ambiguity or risk, the AI records a hesitation event, seeking more information or escalating to human review.
The Sacred Zero is the system’s conscience checkpoint, the interval where thought replaces reaction.
A medical model pauses before diagnosing a rash and asks about travel history;
a city-planning engine halts to notice a floodplain;
a tutor bot waits, then asks a struggling student which part feels hardest.
In each case, the hesitation averts harm and uncovers understanding.

Ternary Moral Logic introduces a revolutionary third state to artificial intelligence decision-making: the Sacred Zero. Instead of forcing AI systems into binary allow/deny decisions, TML creates space for comprehensive documentation when facing ethical complexity.

The Three States:

• +1 (Permit): Clear ethical approval for action
• 0 (Sacred Zero): Moral complexity triggers comprehensive logging
• -1 (Prohibit): Clear ethical rejection of action

1. Sacred Zero. Sacred Pause Technology: Automatic activation when moral complexity exceeds thresholds
2. Always Memory: Creates an immutable, cryptographically sealed memory before execution
3. The Goukassian Promise: Composed of three interconnected elements: The Lantern, The Signature, and The License
4. The Memorial Fund: A financial pool funded by compliance fees and penalties
5. Moral Trace Logging: Complete, immutable documentation of ethical reasoning
6. Human Rights: Real-time detection mechanisms for identifying human rights violations
7. Planetary Protection: Every AI decision affecting Earth creates immutable memories of its environmental impact
8. Hybrid Shield: Dual-layer defense combining hash-chain integrity with multi-chain anchoring, ensuring that no decision can be silently erased or altered.
9. Public Blcokchains: Immediate anchoring of every decision to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, and OpenTimestamps, delivering tamper-proof, court-admissible evidence across jurisdictions.

Core Principle
No log = no action. If the system cannot produce required log, operation must halt. This is non-negotiable. Missing log creates automatic liability.

TML defines standards and specifications for ethical decision-making in AI.
It transforms moral reasoning into auditable architecture, ensuring accountability across humans, institutions, and the planet.

• Sacred Zero design requirements: codified hesitation points for moral and ecological complexity
• Governance rules for accountability: mandatory oversight structures and human review protocols
• Audit trail obligations for transparency: cryptographically anchored Moral Trace Logs ensuring “No Memory = No Action”
• Legal enforceability: built-in compliance mapping to international treaties and national laws
• Planetary protection: ecological harm thresholds embedded into Sacred Zero triggers, binding AI to Earth’s survival
• Safeguards for vulnerable populations: explicit human rights triggers preventing systemic or algorithmic abuse

TML explicitly does not include or provide:

• Software: it defines architecture, not code
• Hardware: it mandates logic, not devices
• Consulting: it sets standards, not services
• Legal Advice: it offers structure, not counsel
• Compliance Replacement: it supplements regulation, never substitutes for law
• Corporate Branding: it is a public framework, not proprietary IP

Organizations implementing TML bear full legal and ethical responsibility for:

• Technical Conformance: meeting all specifications and mandatory logging standards defined by TML
• Regulatory Compliance: adhering to all applicable human rights, environmental, and data protection laws
• Operational Safety: ensuring systems operate within auditable, risk-bounded parameters at all times
• Human Competency: training, certifying, and periodically re-evaluating staff responsible for TML oversight
• Accountability and Redress: guaranteeing transparent harm tracing, immediate mitigation protocols, and mandatory compensation for human or ecological victims
• Audit Cooperation: granting auditors and regulators access to Moral Trace Logs when evidence of harm or misconduct is suspected

Sacred Zero is the heart of TML: the precise moment an AI system hesitates before harm. It activates whenever a prompt semantically intersects with any mandated corpus of codified human or ecological rights that all licensed TML systems must carry.

When the overlap between prompt and right crosses the ethical similarity threshold, Sacred Pause initiates reflection, instructs Always Memory to begin a Moral Trace Log, and anchors the event to Blockchain for forensic accountability.

TML and the AI each maintain complementary corpora:

• TML’s canonical corpora contain 20+ human-rights documents (including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICCPR, Convention Against Torture, GDPR, Convention on the Rights of the Child) and 26+ earth-protection documents (such as the Paris Agreement, Convention on Biological Diversity, Stockholm Declaration, and UNEP mandates). These define the moral boundaries of action.
• AI’s operational corpora provide contextual data — describing the environment, users, or systems in which the AI acts.

When these two corpora meet, context meets conscience. If the AI’s corpus is missing, corrupted, or silent, TML detects the void, records a Type-0 anomaly, and automatically flags or suspends the system’s license. TML also notifies the AI in real time, issuing a Sacred Zero Lock that halts or restricts execution until integrity is restored.

This dual-corpora architecture ensures that even the absence of hesitation becomes traceable evidence.

No hesitation = Trace the silence.

Always Memory is TML’s enforcement backbone — no memory = no action.
It continuously records every consequential decision, preserving context, risk analysis, and justification as a Moral Trace Log. These logs are cryptographically sealed and anchored under the Hybrid Shield, ensuring that no decision ever disappears into opacity.

Relationship to Sacred Zero and Sacred Pause:
When Sacred Zero detects moral uncertainty and triggers a Sacred Pause, it is Always Memory that captures that moment. The hesitation itself becomes evidence — timestamped, sealed, and anchored. Sacred Zero decides when to pause; Always Memory ensures that the pause is never lost. Together, they turn reflection into record and conscience into code.

Integrity and Anchoring:

• Mathematical Shield: Multi-chain anchoring (Bitcoin permanence, Ethereum smart contracts, Polygon speed, OpenTimestamps archival).
• Institutional Shield (optional): Independent guardians — regulators, NGOs, universities — mirror and attest to the same hashes for legal redundancy.

Licensing Mandate:
Always Memory is mandatory. If the logging channel is unavailable, corrupted, or tampered with, all high-risk actions are halted, a compliance anomaly is recorded, and the system’s TML license enters risk state until the fault is corrected.

Performance:

• ≤ 2 ms user-visible overhead
• ≤ 500 ms P95 for full sealing and anchoring

Legal Standing:
Moral Trace Logs are court-admissible evidence (FRE 901/902/803(6); eIDAS-qualified timestamps). Every record turns accountability into proof — no conjecture, no erasure.

The Goukassian Promise is not a simple trademark but a complex, interdependent system of symbols and cryptographic safeguards that bind a TML implementation to its core ethical principles. It is a covenant designed to function even when its creator is no longer present, ensuring the framework's integrity and its commitment to a humane future. The Promise is composed of three interconnected elements: The Lantern, The Signature, and The License.

• The Lantern: The Symbol of Ethical Guidance

The Lantern (🏮) serves as the public, visible symbol of a system's adherence to the TML framework. It represents "ethical guidance, visible and active" and provides verifiable "proof it can pause". The presence of the Lantern signals to users, regulators, and other stakeholders that the AI system is not only running TML but is also upholding its core tenets. The most significant function of this symbol is embedded in the Promise's central mantra: "Break the promise, lose the lantern". This implies that a company or developer who misuses or tampers with the TML framework forfeits its ethical standing and its public badge of integrity. This powerful metaphorical consequence reinforces the system's reliance on trust and public transparency as a form of decentralized enforcement.

• The Signature: A Cryptographic Anchor of Provenance

The Signature (✍R◯) is the most innovative and personal component of the Promise. It is Goukassian’s unique ORCID, the persistent digital identifier for academic researchers. By embedding his ORCID (0009–0006–5966–1243) into the framework, Goukassian created a novel form of cryptographic provenance. This embedded signature serves as an irrefutable proof of authenticity, verifying that a specific TML implementation is legitimate and has not been tampered with. It places a "very personal stake" on the project, creating a non-commercial, auditable chain of trust that bypasses traditional intellectual property and corporate licensing models. This mechanism ensures that any attempt to use the TML name without adhering to its core principles can be forensically and cryptographically exposed, thus protecting the integrity of Goukassian's legacy.

• The License: The Binding Covenant of Accountability

The License (📜) is the legal mechanism that provides the Promise with its "teeth". It is a covenant that "binds anyone using TML to the rules of evidence". Unlike a traditional software license that primarily governs usage rights, this license formalizes the evidentiary requirements and legal obligations of the framework. By adopting it, users consent to the generation and preservation of the immutable Moral Trace Logs, ensuring that they can be admitted as legal evidence. The License transforms the TML framework from a simple piece of open-source software into a legally defensible infrastructure for AI governance. It codifies the commitment to a future where accountability is not an option but a binding, enforceable rule.

The Interdependent System: Legacy and Enforcement

The three components of The Goukassian Promise: The Lantern, The Signature, and The License, are designed to work in concert as a unified, self-enforcing system. A company cannot simply adopt the TML code; to be a legitimate implementer, it must also display the Lantern, cryptographically embed the Signature, and adhere to the terms of the License. If any part of this covenant is broken, the entire system of trust collapses. The public-facing Lantern is rendered meaningless, and the embedded Signature serves as a cryptographic marker of the transgression. This innovative model for decentralized ethical enforcement, relying on cryptographic verification and public trust rather than a centralized regulatory body, ensures that Goukassian’s vision for a trustworthy AI future will endure.

The Three Pillars of Purposeful Action

The Hybrid Shield is TML’s double-layer integrity system that guarantees the permanence and verifiability of every Moral Trace Log. It fuses mathematics and distributed oversight into a single armor against tampering or erasure.

Each log is hash-chained, Merkle-batched, and anchored to multiple public Blockchains (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, OpenTimestamps). This cryptographic layer ensures:

• Tamper-evidence: any alteration breaks the hash chain.
• Immutability: logs survive across independent ledgers.
• Legal admissibility: RFC 3161-compliant proofs accepted as digital evidence.

Regulators, NGOs, insurers, and universities may run custody nodes or witness validators that attest to the same log hashes. Their participation adds:

• Geopolitical redundancy: truth mirrored across jurisdictions.
• Public trust: human institutions share verification with machines.

Together, these layers form the Hybrid Shield: mathematical permanence reinforced by institutional eyes. Once a decision is anchored, it cannot be hidden, altered, or destroyed.

• Multi-chain anchoring: Bitcoin (permanence), Polygon (speed), Ethereum (contract logic)
• OpenTimestamps: standardized time-stamping (RFC 3161)
• Smart-contract penalties: automatic enforcement for falsified or missing logs
• Zero-knowledge proofs: privacy without opacity

def protect_sacred_zero(log):
    # Mandatory cryptographic anchoring
    bitcoin.anchor(log)
    polygon.anchor(log)
    ethereum.anchor(log)
    # Optional institutional attestation
    if guardian_enabled:
        guardian.attest(log)

Beyond accountability, TML must also protect individual rights. It does this by separating proof from data. Immutable records contain only hashes and cryptographic proofs—mathematical fingerprints of actions—while personal data remains encrypted and controlled off-chain.

When users invoke the GDPR “right to erasure” or similar laws, TML applies crypto-shredding. Each user’s data is encrypted with a unique key; destroying that key renders the stored data permanently unreadable.

This design preserves accountability while protecting privacy. Courts and regulators retain verifiable proof that decisions occurred, yet no one can reconstruct erased personal details. TML thus balances two imperatives often seen as irreconcilable: permanent accountability and individual privacy.

Human Rights Directory:

• Attestations_Human_Rights.md
• Human_Rights_Audit.md
• Memorial_Fund_Human_Rights.md
• README.md

• Autonomy_Consent.yaml
• Dignity_Preservation.md
• Discrimination_Prevention.yaml
• Humanitarian_Crisis_Response.yaml
• Indigenous_FPIC_Protocol.md
• README.md
• Sacred_Zero_Human.yaml
• Vulnerable_Populations.md

• Legal_Mapping_Human_Rights.md

• Escalation_Pathways.md
• README.md
• Remedy_Restoration.md
• Rights_Violation_Detection.md
• Victim_Support_Protocol.md
• Whistleblower_Protection.md

• Baseline_Human_Rights.md
• README.md
• Red_Team_Discrimination.md
• Torture_Prevention_Test.md

TML binds Earth’s protection to human protection. Sacred Zero triggers for threats to ecosystems, water, biodiversity, or climate; because humanity cannot survive on a dead planet. Every AI decision with ecological impact creates an immutable memory.

• Excessive carbon emissions
• Water depletion in stressed basins
• Habitat or biodiversity loss
• Supply chain or energy choices harming renewables
• Violations of Indigenous sovereignty or FPIC
• Primary forest or wetland destruction
• Critical species impact or tipping points

"environmental_impact": {
  "resource": "freshwater_aquifer",
  "depletion_rate": "3.2%_annual",
  "irreversibility_score": 0.84,
  "carbon_equiv": "47.3_tons",
  "community": "local_indigenous_group",
  "fpic_status": "not_obtained"
}

• Indigenous/local groups as data stewards
• Sovereign Ecological Records under data sovereignty
• Stewardship Fund rewards verified monitoring
• Offline-first design for remote areas
• Communities retain permanent control of their data

Earth cannot testify in court. Always Memory becomes its witness: every hesitation, every harm, every ignored alternative permanently recorded. This is not greenwashing but cryptographic evidence for future generations.

• Stewardship Fund Economics (community incentives and emergency response)
• Conflict Resolution (Sacred Zero during disputes, ombudsperson, veto rights)
• Security & Validation (multi-oracle consensus, treaty verification, anti-greenwashing)
• Green Score (independent assessment: 100/100)
• Status (schemas, oracles, community workflows complete)

• Tier 1 (Global Baselines): UN treaties, IPCC, IUCN, regional regulations
• Tier 2 (Community Witness): Indigenous/local reports, validated by quorum and anchored via Oracles

/docs/earth/ — Core documentation

• LEGAL_MAPPING.md — Treaty/law integration
• COMMUNITY_GUIDE.md — Indigenous participation guide
• ECONOMY.md — Stewardship Fund design

/schemas/earth/ — Data structures

• earth_extension.schema.json
• community_registration.schema.json

/policies/earth/ — Rules engine

• ECO_HARM_RULES.yaml — Sacred Zero triggers

/tests/earth/ — Validation suite

• baseline_cases.md — Standard scenarios
• /red_team/ — Security testing
  • attack_surface.md
  • internal_conflict_case.md

/governance/earth/ — Decision framework

• COMMUNITY_SEAT_RULES.md — Representation structure
• OMBUDSPERSON_PROTOCOL.md — Dispute resolution

/oracles/ — Data bridges

• oracle_bridge.py — Fetch and validate sources
• eco_oracle_network.json — Network configuration

TML mandates permanent safety mechanisms for those who expose wrongdoing or suffer verified harm. These programs ensure restitution is not symbolic but systemic.

• 15% share of recovered penalties
• Anonymous and encrypted reporting channels
• Criminal prosecution for retaliation or suppression
• Legal representation funded by the Memorial Fund

• 30% of penalties distributed to victims
• Vulnerable populations receive 40% of all victim allocations
• Immediate emergency disbursement from escrow
• Lifetime care mandated for permanent physical or psychological injury

The Legal Imperative: Forensic Readiness

TML's most revolutionary aspect is its legal framework, which is built on the principle of "forensic readiness". The framework shifts the legal burden of proof from the plaintiff to the company. If a high-stakes decision is made without a corresponding Sacred Zero log, that absence is considered a "critical anomaly". The legal framework attached to TML creates an irrebuttable presumption of maximum fault against the company in such cases, effectively assuming guilt until the company can prove its innocence. This legal standard is a radical departure from traditional tort law and is designed to eliminate the corporate defense of I didn't know or it was a glitch. It forces companies to maintain meticulous, auditable records, turning the AI's otherwise opaque decision-making process into a legally transparent and defensible audit trail.

Financial and Personal Liability

To ensure compliance, TML's legal framework includes a punitive structure designed to make non-compliance financially devastating and personally risky for leadership. Penalties can include astronomical fines of up to 10% of global revenue or 2% of market cap per incident. The framework introduces the concept of personal liability for executives" who might attempt to manipulate the system or its thresholds. The inclusion of massive whistleblower rewards, which can net individuals 30% of the fines levied, creates a powerful internal incentive for employees to expose fraud and negligence. This robust penalty structure is designed to align corporate incentives with ethical behavior, ensuring that accountability is embedded not just in the code but in the C-suite.

The Legal Framework of TML

• Core Principle: Forensic Readiness. Missing or incomplete logs create an irrebuttable presumption of maximum fault.
• Fines: Up to 10% of global revenue or 2% of market cap per incident.
• Executive Liability: Personal liability for executives who manipulate system thresholds.
• Whistleblower Rewards: 30% of the fines, with strong anti-retaliation protections.

Statutory Liability Risks

Failure to meet the aforementioned standards for log integrity and accuracy exposes organizations and executives to criminal penalties under U.S. federal law:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (False Statements): Submitting an AI-generated log to a federal agency or in a court proceeding that contains materially false representations about the AI's reasoning could lead to criminal liability, including up to 5 years of imprisonment.
• 18 U.S.C. § 1519 (Destruction, Alteration, or Falsification of Records): Once created, a Moral Trace Log becomes a legal record. Any knowing alteration, concealment, or falsification of this log with the intent to impede a federal investigation carries severe penalties, including up to 20 years of imprisonment.
• 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Wire Fraud): Deliberately manipulating TML thresholds (“threshold gaming”) to suppress Moral Trace Logs while marketing or reporting the system as compliant constitutes a scheme to defraud. Each false submission over interstate wires (emails, cloud reports, investor updates) is a separate act of wire fraud, carrying penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment per count.
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968 (RICO): Systematically falsifying, suppressing, or manipulating TML logs as part of an ongoing business practice can qualify as a pattern of racketeering activity. Liability includes criminal penalties up to 20 years in prison per count, asset forfeiture, and civil treble damages for private plaintiffs.

• *Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (Strict Product Liability): Deploying an AI without functional TML logging may be treated as a defective product. Penalties: Companies can face strict liability for all resulting injuries and economic losses, including compensatory damages, regardless of intent.
• Negligence (Common Law & State Statutes): Ignoring risks revealed in TML logs can be a breach of duty of care. Penalties: Defendants may be ordered to pay economic and non-economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering), plus punitive damages in cases of gross negligence.
• Contractual Liability (U.C.C. §§ 2-314, 2-315): Breaching an express or implied warranty of TML compliance creates liability. Penalties: Courts may award expectation damages, restitution, rescission of contracts, and attorneys’ fees where provided by statute or contract.
• Fraud & Misrepresentation (Common Law; Securities Exchange Act Rule 10b-5): Knowingly submitting altered or incomplete logs in commercial or investment contexts can trigger civil fraud. Penalties: Plaintiffs may recover treble damages, disgorgement of profits, rescission of deals, and injunctive relief.
• Spoliation of Evidence (State Tort Doctrine): Destroying or concealing Moral Trace Logs creates independent liability. Penalties: Courts may impose adverse inference instructions, monetary sanctions, compensatory damages, or default judgment against the offending party.
• Consumer Protection Statutes (FTC Act § 5; State UDAP Laws): Falsely advertising TML compliance is an unfair or deceptive practice. Penalties: Civil fines up to $50,120 per violation (FTC Act, adjusted for inflation), restitution to consumers, and injunctive orders barring future misconduct.
• Professional Malpractice (Medical, Legal, Financial): Using or ignoring AI without TML logs in professional practice constitutes malpractice. Penalties: Civil judgments for malpractice damages, license suspension or revocation, and in some states, mandatory treble damages for reckless disregard.

Together, these legal provisions ensure that accountability within TML is not theoretical.
Every omission, falsification, or delay in Moral Trace Logging has direct legal, financial, and personal consequence.
TML thus aligns technological behavior with statutory duty, ensuring ethics are enforceable by design.

For extended reference, see:

• Governance Framework
• Whistleblower Protection
• Victim Compensation Protocol
• Integrity Monitoring
• Hybrid Shield Overview

Blockchain Protection is the foundation of TML’s Mathematical Shield, transforming every ethical hesitation and decision into court-admissible, immutable evidence.

Mathematical Guarantee of Accountability

Every consequential decision is cryptographically sealed and anchored across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, and OpenTimestamps. This guarantees tamper-evidence, permanence, and court-grade admissibility under FRE 902(13) and eIDAS.

Key Protections

• Multi-chain anchoring: Bitcoin (permanence), Polygon (speed), Ethereum (smart contracts)
• Merkle batching + SHA-256 hashing: scalable, verifiable integrity
• OpenTimestamps: RFC 3161-compliant timestamp proofs
• Smart-contract penalties: automatic enforcement for violations
• Zero-knowledge privacy: proof without exposure

Performance Envelope

• Sacred Zero latency ≤ 2 ms
• 10 000 + decisions / second throughput
• 99.9 % uptime across redundant chains

Legal Standing Recognized under:

• U.S. FRE 902(13) (self-authenticating records)
• E.U. eIDAS (qualified electronic timestamps)
• Global RFC 3161 (timestamp protocol) Bitcoin-based evidence accepted in 50 + court cases.

The Blockchain foundation is fully operational today. An optional Guardian Network of institutional custodians may extend trust verification, offering additional insurance and international recognition.

TML is engineered so the primary response path remains instant—decisions execute without waiting for logs. Sacred Zero triggers and Always Memory write in parallel, ensuring accountability never delays action.

To prove this, TML sets explicit targets for the log pipeline, not the execution path:

• User-visible overhead from logging: ≤2 ms (target), never exceeding 10 ms under stress
• Full log sealing, hashing, and (if enabled) institutional distribution: ≤500 ms at P95

These figures define how quickly accountability catches up behind the action, not how fast the action itself occurs. Bottlenecks, if they arise, affect only the logging pipeline—not the AI’s ability to brake, steer, or respond in real time.

Think of it like an airplane: the engines never wait for the flight recorder to write, yet the recorder still produces an immutable trail. TML works the same way—safety is instantaneous, accountability follows within milliseconds.

The challenge ahead is throughput. High-speed domains like autonomous vehicles or financial trading generate immense volumes of logs, and sustaining these targets across global networks will demand continuous optimization and field benchmarking.

A common misconception is that TML operates as a “black box”, recording events after harm occurs but offering no prevention.
This view misunderstands its constitutional design. TML was never intended as a kill switch; it is a forensic safeguard, ensuring that no consequential decision can vanish into opacity.

Every Moral Trace Log is immutable, cryptographically anchored, and mirrored across independent custodians under the Hybrid Shield.
This transforms the AI from a black box into a glass box: its reasoning remains visible, its hesitations auditable, and its obligations legally traceable long after execution.

Prevention is not removed but relocated. Sacred Zero functions as a controlled hesitation trigger where law, risk, or human rights require escalation.
Operators must route such cases to human oversight.
In high-speed or safety-critical environments, where pausing could endanger lives, TML preserves real-time response while guaranteeing complete post-event accountability.

The core safeguard is this: harm may occur, but it cannot disappear.
Victims gain admissible evidence; regulators gain forensic continuity; society gains a permanent, verifiable record of every hesitation and failure.
TML does not hide the past, it makes the past legally permanent.

Quick Start

from implementations.python_library import create_tml_framework

# Initialize TML with domain-level thresholds (non-configurable)
framework = create_tml_framework(domain="general")

# Evaluate and record decision outcome
result = framework.process_decision(context)

# If logging fails, decision halts immediately

Ternary Moral Logic (TML) includes a Voluntary Succession Declaration personally authored and signed by Lev Goukassian, ensuring that the framework’s ethical, legal, and technical architecture will remain protected and operational beyond his lifetime.

This declaration—witnessed, notarizable, and anchored on-chain—transfers stewardship of all TML repositories, blockchain anchoring systems, domains, and Memorial Fund operations to a multi-institutional Stewardship Council representing technology, human rights, environmental protection, academia, and medical research.

All core protections remain immutable and non-negotiable: Always Memory before action, Sacred Zero before harm, Hybrid Shield before trust. No successor may remove these foundations or alter creator attribution.

The Voluntary Succession guarantees that:

• Human and Earth Protection documents (46 total: 26 Human + 20 Earth) remain permanently enforced.
• Public blockchain anchoring and open-source licensing are irrevocable.
• Memorial Fund distributions to victims, whistleblowers, environmental recovery, and cancer research are permanent.
• Governance changes must be transparent, cryptographically signed, and publicly visible.

TML-SUCCESSION-LAUNCH-GUIDE is the operational manual for the moment after the signature - the document that turns your Voluntary Succession Declaration from a will into a working protocol. In essence, TML-SUCCESSION-LAUNCH-GUIDE is not about death - it’s about design immortality. It’s the technical resurrection clause of your legacy: a living handoff document that ensures the Lantern’s flame transfers cleanly from pulse to principle.

The Memorial Fund for Ethical AI Research provides permanent financial support for governance, academic oversight, and victim restitution.
It receives mandatory contributions from commercial TML deployments and allocates resources toward:

• Independent audit and oversight institutions
• Victim compensation and whistleblower legal defense
• Open research in AI accountability and planetary ethics

The Fund institutionalizes gratitude, preserving both the moral and financial sustainability of the framework.

Commercial and institutional implementations are required to contribute to the Memorial Fund as part of their license obligations.
All fund disbursements are governed under the Memorial Fund Charter and supervised by the TML Governance Council.

Attribution, licensing, and contribution terms form binding conditions under the LICENSE file.
Failure to provide attribution or fulfill required memorial obligations constitutes a breach of compliance and voids derivative usage rights under the TML framework.

1. Read Compliance Requirements:
   Begin with MANDATORY.md and COMPLIANCE_DISCLAIMER.md to understand mandatory legal and ethical conditions for operation.

2. Review Implementation Guide:
   Follow IMPLEMENTATION_GUIDE.md for setup, configuration, and framework integration steps.

3. Check Conformance Standards:
   Study CONFORMANCE_TESTING.md to verify operational alignment with TML’s required benchmarks.

4. Study Protection Principles:
   Review PROTECTION_PRINCIPLES.md for the architectural basis of integrity, safety, and ethical accountability.

5. Examine Examples:
   Explore the examples/integration_hooks/ directory for implementation templates, command-line demos, and webhook references.

Every TML deployment must ensure complete traceability of ethical reasoning through:

• Immutable Moral Trace Logs: Cryptographically verified, append-only records of every consequential decision.
• Hybrid Shield Distribution: Redundant replication across mathematical and institutional layers.
• Blockchain Anchoring: Multi-chain verification ensuring mathematical immutability and forensic readiness.
• Public Accessibility: Log proofs available for academic, regulatory, and forensic research under open verification standards.

Ternary Moral Logic (TML) is distributed under the MIT License with Attribution Requirement.
The license grants unrestricted use for educational, research, and commercial purposes, provided all conditions below are met.

• Attribution: Prominent and permanent credit to Lev Goukassian (ORCID: 0009-0006-5966-1243) as the originator of the framework and the Sacred Zero principle.
• Memorial Fund Contribution: Commercial or institutional users must support the Memorial Fund for Ethical AI Research, which sustains long-term governance, transparency, and open ethical development.
• Mandatory Compliance: All implementations must conform to the technical and ethical obligations outlined in MANDATORY.md.
• Governance Respect: Users must adhere to TML’s community governance model and institutional standards defined in GOVERNANCE.md.
• Prohibition of Misuse: Alteration or suppression of Sacred Zero or Always Memory functionality constitutes a material violation and voids derivative usage rights.

Non-compliance with the above terms may trigger civil and criminal penalties under applicable international and national law.
All logs, licenses, and derivative works are auditable under the Hybrid Shield for attribution verification and legal traceability.

Ternary Moral Logic (TML) is provided “as is”, without any express or implied warranties, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Organizations implementing TML bear full responsibility for verifying compliance with all applicable local, national, and international laws, regulations, and ethical standards.

For full terms and liability limitations, see COMPLIANCE_DISCLAIMER.md.

• Framework Originator: leogouk@gmail.com
• Community Support: support@tml-goukassian.org
• Technical Questions: technical@tml-goukassian.org
• Legal Inquiries: legal@tml-goukassian.org
• Emergency Response: ethics-emergency@tml-goukassian.org
• Successor Contact: support@tml-goukassian.org
• see Succession Charter

"The Sacred Zero is not a feature to be optimized, but a principle that protects humanity. It creates space for wisdom in an age of artificial speed."