EPICON-02

EPICON-02: Intent Publication & Divergence Protocol (IPDP)¶

Version: 1.0.0
Status: Draft
Layer: Epistemic Governance
Depends on: EPICON-01
Applies to: All authority-bearing actions in Mobius Systems
Author: Michael Judan
Project: Mobius / Kaizen OS
License: CC0 / Public Domain

1. Purpose¶

EPICON-02 defines a mandatory protocol for publishing intent, binding it to authority, and detecting divergence between stated justification and observed action.

This protocol does not prevent actions.
It makes divergence legible, attributable, and time-bound.

2. Design Goals¶

EPICON-02 enforces the following invariants:

1. Intent must precede authority
2. Intent must be immutable once published
3. Authority must be scoped and time-bounded
4. Divergence must be observable without accusation
5. Expiration is mandatory
6. No narrative claims may substitute verification

3. Core Definitions¶

3.1 Intent Publication¶

An Intent Publication (IP) is a signed, immutable declaration describing why, where, and for how long an actor intends to exercise authority.

Intent is epistemic, not motivational.
It explains reasoning, not desire.

3.2 Scope Envelope¶

A Scope Envelope (SE) defines the maximum permissible action surface allowed under an Intent Publication.

Actions outside the envelope are not blocked — they are flagged as divergent.

3.3 Divergence¶

Divergence occurs when an observed action:

• Exceeds declared scope
• Contradicts stated justification
• Persists beyond expiration
• Introduces effects not accounted for in counterfactuals

Divergence is a state condition, not an accusation.

3.4 Expiration Witness¶

An Expiration Witness (EW) is a system-generated event marking the termination of authority at a fixed time.

Authority must end, even if no divergence occurred.

4. Required Objects¶

4.1 Intent Publication Object¶

{
  "intent_id": "uuid",
  "ledger_id": "uuid",
  "justification_hash": "sha256",
  "scope_envelope": ["module.read", "module.write.limited"],
  "counterfactuals": [
    "If X occurs, authority must halt",
    "If Y threshold is crossed, scope collapses"
  ],
  "issued_at": "ISO-8601",
  "expires_at": "ISO-8601",
  "signature": "ed25519"
}

4.2 Divergence Event Object¶

{
  "divergence_id": "uuid",
  "intent_id": "uuid",
  "observed_action": "string",
  "violation_type": "scope | justification | duration | counterfactual",
  "detected_at": "ISO-8601",
  "severity": "low | medium | high",
  "immutable": true
}

4.3 Expiration Witness Object¶

{
  "witness_id": "uuid",
  "intent_id": "uuid",
  "expired_at": "ISO-8601",
  "authority_status": "terminated",
  "final_divergence_count": 0,
  "immutable": true
}

5. Protocol Flow¶

5.1 Authority Request¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. Actor publishes Intent Publication                      │
│  2. Companion verifies coherence (EPICON-01)                │
│  3. AVM validates scope and expiry                          │
│  4. Authority is granted conditionally                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

5.2 Execution Phase¶

• Actions are continuously compared against Scope Envelope
• Companion monitors justification coherence
• Ledger records action hashes

5.3 Divergence Handling¶

When divergence is detected:

1. Authority is not automatically revoked
2. A Divergence Event is emitted
3. Scope may collapse automatically based on severity
4. Community visibility is immediate

5.4 Expiration¶

At expires_at:

1. Authority terminates
2. Expiration Witness is recorded
3. No renewal without new Intent Publication

6. Sequence Diagram¶

sequenceDiagram
    participant Actor
    participant Companion
    participant AVM
    participant Ledger
    participant Monitor

    Actor->>Companion: Publish Intent
    Companion->>Companion: Verify EPICON-01 coherence
    Companion-->>Actor: Attestation signed

    Actor->>AVM: Submit Intent + Attestation
    AVM->>Ledger: Validate scope + time
    Ledger-->>AVM: Authority context
    AVM-->>Actor: Conditional authority granted

    loop Execution Phase
        Actor->>Ledger: Perform action
        Monitor->>Monitor: Compare action vs scope
        alt Divergence detected
            Monitor->>Ledger: Emit DivergenceEvent
            Ledger-->>Actor: Visibility notification
        end
    end

    Note over Ledger: expires_at reached
    Ledger->>Ledger: Generate ExpirationWitness
    Ledger-->>Actor: Authority terminated

7. Intent Evolution (Non-Violation)¶

Intent may evolve only through explicit re-publication.

Rules:

• Original intent remains immutable
• New intent must reference prior intent
• Divergence is acknowledged, not erased
• Community sees learning vs deception through trajectory

7.1 Evolution Object¶

{
  "new_intent_id": "uuid",
  "prior_intent_id": "uuid",
  "evolution_reason": "string",
  "acknowledged_divergences": ["divergence_id_1", "divergence_id_2"],
  "issued_at": "ISO-8601"
}

8. Emergency Actions¶

Emergency actions are permitted only if they create a Transparency Debt.

8.1 Transparency Debt Requirements¶

8.2 Emergency Debt Object¶

{
  "debt_id": "uuid",
  "emergency_action_id": "uuid",
  "deadline": "ISO-8601",
  "fulfilled": false,
  "retroactive_intent_id": null,
  "credibility_impact_if_unfulfilled": "high"
}

Emergency does not bypass auditability.

9. Prohibited Behaviors¶

EPICON-02 explicitly forbids:

10. Security Properties¶

EPICON-02 guarantees:

11. Relationship to EPICON-01¶

Together they produce: Epistemic Accountability by Default

11.1 Integration Points¶

• EPICON-02 Intent Publications require EPICON-01 EJ hashes
• EPICON-02 Divergence detection uses EPICON-01 CCR scores
• EPICON-02 Companion verification follows EPICON-01 CSS gates

12. Non-Goals¶

EPICON-02 does NOT:

It only enforces: legibility, scope, and time.

13. Canonical Rule¶

Mobius does not prevent divergence.
It makes divergence undeniable.

14. Implementation Topology¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    INTENT LAYER                              │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │  Intent Publication Store (immutable)               │    │
│  │  • All published intents                            │    │
│  │  • Evolution chains                                 │    │
│  │  • Emergency debt records                           │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
┌─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┐
│                    MONITORING LAYER                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │  Divergence Detection Engine                        │    │
│  │  • Scope comparison                                 │    │
│  │  • Justification coherence                          │    │
│  │  • Temporal bounds checking                         │    │
│  │  • Counterfactual validation                        │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
┌─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┐
│                    VISIBILITY LAYER                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │  Public Event Stream                                │    │
│  │  • Divergence events (real-time)                    │    │
│  │  • Expiration witnesses                             │    │
│  │  • Integrity trajectories                           │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

15. Related Documents¶

16. Future Extensions¶

Document Control¶

Version History: - v1.0.0: Initial specification (C-151)

License: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain)

"Mobius does not judge intent. It binds intent to time, scope, and visibility — and lets reality speak."

— Mobius Principle